West syndrome

West Syndrome It is included within the classification of It is characterized by infantile spasms, psychomotor impairment and abnormal activity (hypsarrhythmic) in It is a not very frequent disease, since it affects 1 in 4,000-6,000 newborns. It seems to be more common in boys than girls.

Causes

The causes of the appearance of West Syndrome can be prenatal (before birth), perinatal or postnatal. Prenatals are the most frequent: infections during pregnancy (cytomegalovirus, herpes, syphilis, rubella or toxoplasmosis), metabolic diseases or brain disorders. The most common postnatal causes are infections (meningitis), brain hemorrhages, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or a brain tumor.

Symptoms

The first symptoms of the disease usually appear between 3 and 7 months of life. The characteristic is the appearance of infantile spasms in flexion and / or extension affecting both parts of the body equally or only one.

Sometimes the seizures are very subtle, with minimal expression such as nodding or lifting of the eyes.

Typically, these spastic movements are repeated many, many times a day, both when the baby is sleeping and when he is awake, although they typically occur more frequently after awakening or in drowsiness.

Psychomotor development stops from the onset of crises. On many occasions, a change in mood is observed in babies: loss of smile and mimicry, with disinterest in their surroundings and interpersonal relationships. Later, the baby's acquisitions no longer progress, he even loses activities that he possessed before the syndrome appeared: he no longer supports his head or sits, for example.

Treatment

After the evaluation of the child neurologist and the confirmation of the treatment, hormones and anticonvulsant drugs are prescribed, that is, they control the appearance of epileptic seizures.

Forecast

The prognosis of West Syndrome is very poor and depends on the state of the child prior to diagnosis. An early diagnosis in a previously normal child has a better prognosis and they may be children with a satisfactory intellectual evolution.

If the spasms appear in children under 3 months, they are usually children with profound mental retardation. The most serious forms can present a mortality of up to 35%.

• The first symptoms usually appear between 3 and 7 months of life and are usually spasms.
• After the evaluation of the child neurologist and the confirmation of the treatment, hormones and anticonvulsant drugs are prescribed, that is, they control the appearance of epileptic seizures.
• It has a poor prognosis, which improves the sooner it is diagnosed.

Pediatric Specialist