PET Used To Study Epilepsy In Children

According to a recent study, positron emission tomography (PET) scans are able to provide an assessment and determine prognosis of cases of cognitive dysfunction of fever-induced refractory epileptic encephalopathy in school-age children (FIRES). The findings of the study were published in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
FIRES is a recently-identified disorder that develops in healthy children. Subjects suffer a brief fever followed by acute seizures that are highly resistant to medication and these seizures continue for several weeks. Once they stop, children experience severe cognitive dysfunction, affecting mainly the functions of language, memory and behavior.
The study was titled "18F-FDG PET Reveals Frontotemporal Dysfunction in Children with Fever-Induced Refractory Epileptic Encephalopathy," It involved 8 children identified to have FIRES. The participants underwent neuropsychologic evaluations, brain MRI and 18F-FDG PET scans. Researchers reported severe cognitive dysfunction in each child; MRI scans did not show any brain abnormalities in these children, while PET scans indicated that they were suffering significant cognitive impairment.

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PET Used To Study Epilepsy In Children