Widespread functional effects of discrete thalamic infarction.

In order to investigate functional effects of various thalamic structures on metabolism in remote, morphologically intact cerebral regions, we used positron emission tomography of (18F)-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose to study regional cerebral metabolic rates of glucose (rCMRGlu) in 11 patients with chronic unilateral or bilateral infarcts strictly confined to the thalamus. Patients were grouped according to computed tomographic scans showing anterior (three), medial (four), or posterior (four) lesions. Compared with a matched group of 11 healthy subjects (hemispheric CMRGlu 35.

Positron emission tomography findings relevant to neurosurgery for epilepsy.

Using the 2-[F-18]fluorodeoxyglucose method, 213 positron emission tomographic (PET) studies of local brain glucose metabolism (CMRglu) were performed in 124 patients with various forms of epilepsy. Interictal PET scans of primary epileptics typically showed some global metabolic depression and decreased functional activity of insular, basal and anterior temporal cortex. Epilepsia partialis continua Kozevnikov was characterized by hypo- or hyper-metabolism of perirolandic cortex.

Regional cerebral blood flow measurement with intravenous [15O]water bolus and [18F]fluoromethane inhalation.

In 20 patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease, classic migraine, or angiomas, we compared paired dynamic positron emission tomographic measurements of regional cerebral blood flow using both [15O]water and [18F]fluoromethane as tracers. Cerebral blood flow was also determined according to the autoradiographic technique with a bolus injection of [15O]water. There were reasonable overall correlations between dynamic [15O]water and [18F]fluoromethane values for cerebral blood flow (r = 0.

Positron emission tomography findings in dementia disorders: contributions to differential diagnosis and objectivizing of therapeutic effects.

At present, positron emission tomography (PET) is the only technology affording the quantitative three-dimensional imaging of various aspects of brain function. Since glucose is the dominant substrate of the brain's energy metabolism, studies of glucose metabolism by PET of 2(18F)-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) are widely applied for investigating the participation of various brain systems in simple or complex stimulations and tasks. In focal or diffuse disorders of the brain, functional impairment of affected or inactivated brain regions is a reproducible finding.

Effect of piracetam on cerebral glucose metabolism in Alzheimer's disease as measured by positron emission tomography.

The effect of piracetam (a putative enhancer of cerebral metabolism) on regional CMRGlu was studied by positron emission tomography of 2[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose in nine patients with Alzheimer's disease, and in seven cases with multiinfarct dementia or unclassified dementia. In Alzheimer's disease, i.v.