Infantile spasms Health Dictionary

A rare type of recurrent seizure, also called progressive myoclonic encephalopathy or salaam attacks, that affects babies. The condition is a form of epilepsy and occurs most commonly from 4–9 months of age. Spasms may occur hundreds of times a day, each lasting a few seconds. These seizures are usually a sign of brain damage; affected babies usually have severe developmental delay.

Also known as salaam attacks, these are a rare but serious type of EPILEPSY, usually starting in the ?rst eight months of life. The spasms are short and occur as involuntary ?exing of the neck, arms, trunk and legs. They may occur several times a day. If the baby is sitting, it may collapse into a ‘salaam’ position; more usually there is a simple body jerk, sometimes accompanied by a sudden cry. An electroencephalogram (see ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY (EEG)) shows a picture of totally disorganised electrical activity called hypsarrhythmia. The condition results from any one of many brain injuries, infections or metabolic insults that may have occurred before, during, or in the ?rst few months after birth. Its importance is that in most cases, the baby’s development is seriously affected such that they are likely to be left with a profound learning disability. Consequently, prompt diagnosis is important. Treatment is with CORTICOSTEROIDS or with certain anti-convulsants – the hope being that prompt and aggressive treatment might prevent further brain damage leading to learning disability.

(salaam attacks) a rare but serious form of epilepsy that usually begins between three and eight months of age. The spasms are involuntary flexing movements of the arms, legs, neck, and trunk; each spasm lasts 1–3 seconds and is associated with flushing of the face, and runs of spasms occur over a period of several minutes. They may occur many times in one day. The baby fails to respond to human contact and development is usually profoundly slowed. An EEG pattern of *hypsarrhythmia is usual and diagnostic. Diagnosis may be delayed as spasms are sometimes confused with colic. Immediate recognition and treatment with antiepileptic medication, corticosteroids, or ACTH offers a chance of arresting the disease, but outcome depends primarily on the nature of the underlying brain abnormality.