PET Scan helps for planning surgery for patients suffering from Epilepsy

Positron emission tomography (PET) brain scans may be sensitive enough to help plan brain surgery for epilepsy, based on the results of a new study.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Md., say, "Our preliminary data suggest that PET imaging with a marker that shows deficits in signaling for the neurotransmitter serotonin is more sensitive than the traditional PET measurement of brain glucose."

Patients with epilepsy often need brain surgery when medication does not work. The researchers say about 30 percent of patients with epilepsy have seizures that cannot be controlled with drugs.
Surgery performed on the areas of the brain where seizures start can be safe and effective.

However, identifying the correct spot for surgery has traditionally required a separate preliminary surgery that sometimes poses risks. Researchers say localizing the epileptic focus is crucial.
In addition to PET scanning, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is also under study as a tool to determine brain origins of epileptic seizures.