Contact the Epilepsy Center International Infantile Spasms. What are infantile spasms? How we care for infantile spasms The Infantile Spasms Program is dedicated to providing timely evaluation, testing, treatment, and follow-up for infants with new onset infantile spasms, refractory infantile spasms, and later-onset epileptic spasms.
What are the symptoms of infantile spasms? Symptoms may include: a cluster of spasms that may be associated with waking from sleep jackknife seizures, where the body bends forward, the knees are pulled up, and the arms are thrown out to the side a stiffening of the body and legs, with the head thrown back decreased visual alertness In some cases, the symptoms are subtle, such as a mild head nod or quick eye movements.
What causes infantile spasms? How are infantile spasms diagnosed? How are infantile spasms treated? Treatments may include: adrenocorticotropic hormone ACTH or high dose prednisolone vigabatrin a specific anti-seizure medication ketogenic diet anti-seizure medications If your child has difficult-to-control spasms, treatment with epilepsy surgery may be an option.
Infantile spasms also can happen in babies with some types of metabolic and genetic disorders. In rare cases, a baby's infantile spasms are caused by vitamin B6 deficiency.
More and more gene mutations are being linked to infantile spasms. Sometimes, the cause isn't known. Infantile spasms are diagnosed by a pediatric neurologist a doctor who treats brain, spine and nervous system problems. Testing may include:. Infantile spasms usually are treated with seizure medicines or steroids.
You may be told to go to the emergency room so a pediatric neurologist can examine your child. Your child may have to be admitted to the hospital to have a test called video-electroencephalogram EEG monitoring. Video-EEG is needed to verify specific brain-wave patterns during the spasms and to document specific patterns in between the spasms. Pediatric neurologists look for a distinct EEG pattern called hypsarrhythmia.
The seizures' appearance and EEG are so distinct that the diagnosis of infantile spasms can be made with certainty in most cases. Determining the cause of the spasms may be more difficult. There are many causes of infantile spasms; almost any brain abnormality or brain injury can cause them. Determining the cause of infantile spasms is very important, because it affects treatment and prognosis. This medication is given as a shot. The first doses are given in the hospital so your child can be closely watched for any side effects.
Since your child will need to continue to get ACTH shots for about 6 weeks, you will be instructed on how to give your child the injections at home. The goals for this medication are to. In some cases, pediatric neurologists prescribe the seizure medication vigabatrin. Both drugs work well, but your child's doctor will talk with you about which medicine may be the better choice for your child.
Even if the infantile spasms stop, many children develop other kinds of epilepsy and have intellectual or other developmental disabilities later in life. If the treatment is prompt and successful, the outlook is brighter. Normal development is possible for those who were developing on track before the spasms started. What is a Child Neurologist? Seizures and Epilepsy in Children. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Editor's Note: The article was published in recognition of Infantile Spasms Awareness Week to help parents, as well as physicians and other health care providers, learn more about this disease and its treatments.
Check out www. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page. On the other hand, normal development and a normal life is possible for some children with infantile spasms. A child can develop normally if:. Infantile Spasms Action Network. The Infantile Spasms Action Network ISAN is a collaborative network of over 30 national and international entities focused on raising awareness for infantile spasms.
To learn more about the group please visit their website. Child Neurology Foundation CNF solicits resources from the community to be included on this webpage through an application process. CNF reserves the right to remove entities at any time if information is deemed inappropriate or inconsistent with the mission, vision, and values of CNF. This is a resource provided by the U. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U. Federal Government.
The information in the CNF Child Neurology Disorder Directory is not intended to provide diagnosis, treatment, or medical advice and should not be considered a substitute for advice from a healthcare professional. Content provided is for informational purposes only. CNF is not responsible for actions taken based on the information included on this webpage. Please consult with a physician or other healthcare professional regarding any medical or health related diagnosis or treatment options.
Other names for infantile spasms include: West syndrome Epileptic spasms Infantile spasms syndrome Children with infantile spasms typically have clusters of short seizures.
Poor outcomes include: Continued seizures and other forms of epilepsy Developmental problems Autism. Outlook Resources Research References. Disorder Overview. Spasm timing. Spasm movements. Cluster timing. Developmental problems.
Coexisting seizures. Three known types of causes can lead to infantile spasms: Abnormalities in the structure of the brain that are present before birth Acquired injuries to the brain after birth Genetic disorders The most common causes of infantile spasms include: Tuberous sclerosis complex Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy Down syndrome, also called trisomy 21 Stroke or bleeding in the brain — read more about perinatal stroke and childhood stroke Brain malformations such as focal cortical dysplasia , polymicrogyria , hemimegalencephaly , and lissencephaly CDKL5 deficiency disorder Duplication 15q syndrome, or Dup15q Aicardi syndrome Some children have normal development before infantile spasms, and no cause is found.
Other Testing Other testing is often used to search for the cause of infantile spasms. Magnetic resonance imaging MRI. Genetic tests. High blood pressure. Stomach irritation. Vigabatrin Only one traditional anti-seizure medicine has been proven moderately effective at treating infantile spasms. Irreversible Peripheral Vision Loss This results from injury to the retina. However, there are several important points to consider: Vigabatrin does not lead to complete blindness. In the vast majority of cases, vision loss only occurs at the edges of vision.
These edges are known as the periphery. Vigabatrin very rarely seems to affect the important, center part of vision. The risk of meaningful vision loss is very low among infants.
Most important, a child may also lose vision by not treating with vigabatrin. Infantile spasms threaten all brain function. This harm can result in cortical vision impairment, or CVI. Multifocal myoclonus. Other Treatments There are many other treatments for infantile spasms. They include: Ketogenic diet Pyridoxine Topiramate Zonisamide Felbamate Cannabidiol Surgical resection, removal of parts of the brain that cause infantile spasms Corpus callosotomy, surgical disconnection of the left and right halves of the brain Vagus nerve stimulation.
Prior disease. A child can develop normally if: Infantile spasms is treated quickly and successfully A child does not have another severe brain disorder. Start typing and press Enter to search.
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