1999 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 283-290
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the correlation between regional cerebral blood low (rCBF) and unilateral spatial neglect (USN), one of the common signs of higher nervous function disturbance. We measured rCBF using 99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dirner (99mTc-ECD) SPECT and analyzed the data quantitatively by the Patlak plot method in 69 sujects with chronic-stage cerebrovascular disease. All of them were right-handed and were damaged on their right cerebral hemisphere. We evaluated the correlation between (1) rCBF and USN, (2) %reduction of CBF (%Re) and USN and (3) rCBF and%Re. USN was checked by employing the line bisection and the star cancellation test. The USN positive group revealed a significantly de-creased rCBF and higher % Re in the right parietal region when compared to the USN negative group. When divided at rCBF values of less than 21.6 (ml /100 ml /min) and % Re values of more than 31.2 (%) in the right parietal region, the USN positive group and USN negative group could be clearly separated. In the majority of patients with thalamic hemorrhage, a decreased rCBF in the right parietal region appeared with USN. These results indicated that a decreased rCBF in the right parietal region was cross-correlated with the existence of USN with and without lesion. In conclusion, the appearance of higher nervous function disturbance could be detected by measuring rCBF by clinically available SPECT studies.
