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CC BY 4.0 · World J Nucl Med 2023; 22(02): 078-086
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1764303
Review Article

PET/MRI Applications in Pediatric Epilepsy

Christian Pedersen 
1   Department of Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
,
Mariam Aboian
1   Department of Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
,
Steven A. Messina
2   Neuroradiology Division, Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic Radiology, Rochester, Minnesota, United States
,
Heike Daldrup-Link
3   Department of Radiology and Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, United States
,
Ana M. Franceschi 
4   Neuroradiology Division, Department of Radiology, Northwell Health/Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, New York, United States
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Abstract

Epilepsy neuroimaging assessment requires exceptional anatomic detail, physiologic and metabolic information. Magnetic resonance (MR) protocols are often time-consuming necessitating sedation and positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) comes with a significant radiation dose. Hybrid PET/MRI protocols allow for exquisite assessment of brain anatomy and structural abnormalities, in addition to metabolic information in a single, convenient imaging session, which limits radiation dose, sedation time, and sedation events. Brain PET/MRI has proven especially useful for accurate localization of epileptogenic zones in pediatric seizure cases, providing critical additional information and guiding surgical decision making in medically refractory cases. Accurate localization of seizure focus is necessary to limit the extent of the surgical resection, preserve healthy brain tissue, and achieve seizure control. This review provides a systematic overview with illustrative examples demonstrating the applications and diagnostic utility of PET/MRI in pediatric epilepsy.

Keywords

hybrid imaging - PET/MRI - pediatric epilepsy - malformations of cortical development - focal cortical dysplasia - temporal lobe epilepsy - mesial temporal sclerosis - tuberous sclerosis


Publication History

Article published online:
28 April 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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