Functional imaging in schizencephaly using [F-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) and single photon emission computed tomography with technetium-99m-hexamethyl-propyleneamine oxime (HMPAO-SPECT)

We analyzed interictal [F-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tom ography (FGD-PET) and single photon emission computed tomography with techn etium-99m-hexamethyl-propyleneamine oxime (HMPAO-SPECT) in a 23-year-old fe male with schizencephaly. She had epilepsy and mild left hemiparesis, but w as otherwise developmentally normal. We found the glucose metabolism and pe rfusion of the wall of the schizencephalic cleft to be identical to those o f normal cerebral cortex. The wall of the transcerebral clefts, which were observed to be lined by abnormally organized gray matter as a result of a m igration disorder, demonstrated gray matter metabolic activity and perfusio n. FDC-PET and HMPAO-SPECT were thus found to be a useful complement to mag netic resonance imaging for evaluating schizencephaly.