Interictal CT Perfusion Changes In Adult Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Objective To explore changes of CT perfusion imaging in adult temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) of unilateral and bilateral interictal discharges.Methods Twenty-one adult patients with temporal lobe epilepsy including eleven TLE of unilateral interictal discharges and ten TLE of bilateral interictal discharges according to video-electroencephalography (VEEG) underwent CT perfusion imaging. Perfusion parameters compassing cerebral blood flow (CBF),cerebral blood volume (CBV) and mean transit time (MTT) in bilateral temporal lobes were measured for each patient and their asymmetry index (AI) values were calculated. CBF,CBV and MTT were compared between bilateral temporal lobe in each group. AI values of CBF,CBV and MTT were compared between two groups.Results The results of CT scan indicated no abnormal findings from cranial structures of each patient. There were no significant differences in terms of CBF,CBV and MTT between bilateral temporal lobe in each group (P>0.05). There was significant difference in terms of their AI values of CBF between two groups (P<0.05). However, no significant differences were found in terms of AI values of CBV and MTT (P>0.05). In unilateral interictal discharges patients'group, the perfusion tends to be lower in the unilateral temporal lobe restricted to the area of interictal electroencephalography (EEG) abnormality than in the contralateral temporal lobe. The CBF of unilateral temporal lobe, however, was not significantly different from that of contralateral temporal lobe (P>0.05).Conclusion There are no significantly statistical differences in terms of CBF,CBV and MTT in bilateral temporal lobes of unilateral and bilateral interictal discharges of adult temporal lobe epilepsy. CT perfusion indicated that cerebral blood flow in temporal lobe is more asymmetric in unilateral TLE than in bilateral TLE.