Correlation of seizure frequency with N-acetyl-aspartate levels determined by H-1 magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging

Using H-1 MRSI, we measured N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), a neuronal marker, in the seizure focus of 16 patients with partial epilepsy. Decreasing NAA correlated with increasing seizure frequency in frontal lobe epilepsy (r = -0.72, p < 0.02) and a similar trend was present in temporal lobe epilepsy (r = -.60, p < 0.06), NAA was not related to the duration of epilepsy, We conclude that patients with higher seizure frequency have evidence of greater neuron loss or dysfunction. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.