Brain glucose utilization in band heterotopia: Synaptic activity of “double cortex”

Regional brain glucose utilization was investigated with positron emission tomography and fluorodeoxyglucose in 2 patients with a seizure disorder associated with diffuse band heterotopia, a condition known as "double cortex." Although 1 patient was examined shortly after the onset of the first seizures, the other had a long history of intractable epilepsy before examination. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a symmetric and generalized band of ectopic gray matter and an overlying normal-looking cortex, without focal abnormality. Metabolic studies yielded comparable results in both patients, with similar and even higher glucose uptake in the layer of gray matter heterotopia compared to the normal cortex. These data suggest the persistence of some synaptic activity in the heterotopic neurons, which seems unaffected by age or by the time-course of epilepsy.