What is infantile spasms?

This disease also known as West syndrome, is a characteristic of the infant epilepsy, early age of onset, has a special form of spasms, 90% accompanied by obvious intelligence and physical developmental disorders. Encephalitis, birth trauma, brain injury is common as a result, males more than females, attack time is from birth to 30 months later, with the majority 3-9 months, April-June as the peak.

The clinical manifestations of the disease has three forms:

(1) bow-like spasms: its performance for the brief of seizure total body muscle spasms, neck, torso and legs bent, adductor or outreach, his arms forward of acute and extended outward to embrace;

(2) the nod-like spasm: a nod-like attack;

(3) the lightning-like spasms: very short duration, usually if the note is difficult to find.

5 characteristics of infantile spasms attack:

(1) a single attack a short time, attack time is 2-10 seconds;

(2) the body especially the head and upper body forward flexion;

(3) attack number frequently, as long as multiple, each episode several times or even dozens of times in a row;

(4) the onset is usually just to sleep or just waking consciousness is hazy State, may be accompanied by a loss of consciousness, sweating, facial bruising and pikun sleepiness;

(5) varying ictal EEG, interictal marked the peak of rhythm disorder.

This disease at the age of 1 and a half stop, after the cessation of attacks, some evolved into other types of attacks, more than 90% in children with mental and motor development in backward, treatment with hormone effect better.