Magnetic resonance imaging in complex partial seizures.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) were performed on 45 patients with intractable complex partial seizures. MRI was performed with a superconducting whole-body scanner operating at 0.5 tesla (T) and 1.5 T. In patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, 8 of 24 patients had abnormal CT, but 16 of 24 patients showed abnormal MRI. 1.5 T MRI detected more abnormality than 0.5 T MRI when CT was normal. In patients with frontal lobe epilepsy, 5 of 7 patients had normal CT and MRI. In 2 other patients, MRI demonstrated an arachnoid cyst and increased signal intensity area on the T2-weighted images which were not detected by CT. In patients with occipital lobe epilepsy, 5 of 6 patients show abnormal CT and MRI. In patients with tuberous sclerosis, MRI revealed some increased signal intensity areas on the T2-weighted images in the occipital and temporal lobe, which were not detected by CT. Most surface EEG foci corresponded with the side of MRI abnormality. These data indicate that MRI is more informative than CT in complex partial seizures. MRI is the imaging technique of choice in the diagnosis of complex partial seizures.