Positron emission tomography in pediatric epilepsy.

PET is an additional tool in the armamentarium to provide improved care to children and infants with epilepsy. It provides important lateralizing information noninvasively, thus avoiding the need for depth or subdural electrodes in most instances. It can be invaluable when CT and MR imaging do not show a structural lesion. When it corresponds to an EEG focus of epileptogenicity, intraoperative electrocorticography may be used to delineate further the extent of surgical resection, often with impressive reduction in the seizure frequency postoperatively. As PET technology continues to improve, the clinical role of PET in the future will undoubtedly continue to grow.

Duke Scholars

Author Thomas John Cummings Pathology