Can diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) identify epileptogenic tubers in tuberous sclerosis complex? Correlation with α-[11C]methyl-L-tryptophan ([11C] AMT) positron emission tomography (PET)

J Child Neurol. 2012 May;27(5):598-603. doi: 10.1177/0883073811422751. Epub 2011 Dec 2.

Abstract

In this study, we determined whether diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a more widely available imaging modality, is as effective as α-[(11)C]methyl-l-tryptophan (AMT)-positron emission tomography (PET) in localizing epileptogenic tubers in tuberous sclerosis complex. Following that, coregistration of AMT-PET and diffusion tensor imaging scans apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) were measured in all tubers using a region-of-interest approach and were compared with AMT-PET tuber/cortex uptake ratios, which were used to differentiate between epileptogenic and nonepileptogenic tubers. Forty-three tubers, out of a total of 320 tubers, had AMT-PET uptake ratios greater than 1 and hence were classified as potentially epileptogenic. FA in epileptogenic tubers was reduced compared with the other tubers (P = .03). A significant negative correlation was observed between AMT-PET uptake ratio of epileptogenic tubers and FA values (r = -.45; P = .003). Tubers with higher AMT-PET uptake ratios corresponded well with lower FA values in tuberous sclerosis complex patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Anisotropy
  • Carbon Radioisotopes*
  • Cerebral Cortex / diagnostic imaging
  • Cerebral Cortex / metabolism
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Diffusion Tensor Imaging*
  • Epilepsy / diagnostic imaging*
  • Epilepsy / etiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Positron-Emission Tomography*
  • Statistics as Topic*
  • Tryptophan / analogs & derivatives*
  • Tuberous Sclerosis / complications

Substances

  • Carbon Radioisotopes
  • tryptophan methyl ester
  • Tryptophan