Seizure frequency and bilateral temporal abnormalities: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of temporal lobe epilepsy

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-1-MRS) was performed in seven hea lthy volunteers and 17 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) to clarif y the correlation of the severity of epilepsy with bilateral temporal chang es in N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline-containing compounds (Cho) and creat ine + phosphocreatine (Cr). Despite unilateral EEG focus, bilateral tempora l reduction in NAA/(Cho + Cr) was revealed in patients with intractable sei zures. The potential for seizure generation correlated with the NAA/(Cho Cr) reduction not only on the ipsilateral side but also on the contralatera l side. Proton MRS proved to be a useful measurement for obtaining importan t information about the neuronal changes as well as the lateralization of t he epileptogenic focus in TLE patients. (C) 2000 BEA Trading Ltd.