Brain P-gp and Inflammation in People with Epilepsy

For people with epilepsy:

• Have focal epilepsy.
• Are 18-60 years of age.
• Are able to give informed consent.
• Must be enrolled in protocol 01-N-0139

For healthy volunteers

• Are 18-60 years of age.
• Are able to give informed consent.
  
  

For people with epilepsy:

• Have a previous radiation exposure (for example, from X-rays or other PET scans) that, together with the radiation exposure from this study would cause you to exceed the NIH research limits.
• Have metal in your body which would make having an MRI scan unsafe.
• Are uncomfortable in small closed spaces (have claustrophobia) so that you would feel uncomfortable in the MRI machine.
• Cannot lie comfortably flat on your back for up to 2 hours in the MRI scanner and during the PET scans.
• Have a brain disease in addition to epilepsy.
• Are taking medications that interfere with P-gp function.
• Have a serious medical illness based on our evaluation.
• Have a brain abnormality on an MRI scan that we will perform.
• Are pregnant or breast feeding.  Women of childbearing potential must agree to use an effective form of birth control until one week after all PET scan are completed.
• Have blood cell that do not bind, which happens in about 10% of people.
• Have drug or alcohol abuse or dependence.

For healthy volunteers

• Have a previous radiation exposure (for example, from X-rays or other PET scans) that, together with the radiation exposure from this study would cause you to exceed the NIH research limits.
• Have metal in your body which would make having an MRI scan unsafe.
• Are uncomfortable in small closed spaces (have claustrophobia) so that you would feel uncomfortable in the MRI machine.
• Cannot lie comfortably flat on your back for up to 2 hours in the MRI scanner and during the PET scans.
• Have a brain disease including epilepsy.
• Are taking medications that interfere with P-gp function.
• Have a serious medical illness based on our evaluation.
• Have a brain abnormality.
• Are pregnant or breast feeding.  Women of childbearing potential must agree to use an effective form of birth control until one week after all PET scan are completed.
• Have blood cells that do not bind, which happens in about 10% of people.
• Have drug or alcohol abuse or dependence.
• Have a positive test for illegal drugs.
• Have any current Axis 1 diagnosis for psychiatric disease.