[Effect of flumazenil on the regional cerebral blood flow measured by [15O]-butanol PET scan and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography].

The authors investigated the role of the cBZD/GABA-A receptor-complex in the regulation of rCBF by simultaneously applying [15O]-butanol-PET and TCD in therapy-resistant TLE patients. It is known that the density of the cBZD/GABA-A-receptors is reduced in the epileptogenic area of the temporal lobe, but there are no data available about the impact of this phenomenon on rCBF. FMZ is a well-known BZD-receptor antagonist which can be used to inhibit the effect mediated by cBZD/GABA-A-receptors, offering a way to study the contribution of these receptors in the determination of rCBF. The authors examined the possible correlation between the rCBF values obtained by PET and the blood flow speed readings measured by TCD in MCAs. The results show that FMZ does not cause any change in rCBF on the side of the epileptogenic focus but it significantly raises rCBF (p < 0.001) in the intact brain tissue on the other side. The TCD measurements showed no significant differences between the blood flow in the MCAs supplying the affected and the contralateral lobe.