Knowing that blood flow in certain parts of the brain increases as those sites are activated during thought processes such as naming, Henry and his Emory colleagues studied blood flow activation during naming tasks performed by eight persons with and 10 persons without left temporal lobe epilepsy. The researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) to compare cerebral blood flow among the subjects. They found that blood flow patterns did indeed differ between persons with and without epilepsy, and that among persons with epilepsy, blood flow activation during naming tasks varied considerably.
Henry believes the identification of these blood flow activation sites -- which "light up" on PET scans -- may serve as important guides for neurosurgeons before and during epilepsy surgery.
The naming study presented this month at the PET Research Symposium of the 21st International Epilepsy Congress in Sydney, Australia, is one of many PET imaging studies of seizure disorders being conducted by staff at the Emory Epilepsy Center. Faculty at the center are the only ones in Georgia, and among only a handful in the nation able to apply PET technology to epilepsy.
Henry, an associate professor of neurology in the medical school. was recruited to Emory from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, to direct the Epilepsy Center. He is working with other Emory neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, radiologists, researchers and nurses to offer adults and children with epilepsy advanced diagnostic, medication and surgical options.
"Epilepsy is expressed so differently among patients, that it is imperative we paint as accurate a picture as possible of where abnormal electrical discharges arise in a particular patient's brain," said Henry. "Only with this information can we help patients make decisions about the best treatments for their seizure disorder." -- Lorri Preston