Infantile spasms and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Edwin Trevathan

Journal: Journal of child neurology 2002;17 Suppl 2():2S9-2S22

PMID: 11952036

Abstract

Infantile spasms and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome are rare but are important to child neurologists because of the intractable nature of the seizures and the serious neurologic comorbidities. New antiepileptic drugs offer more alternatives for treating both infantile spasms and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Selected children with infantile spasms are candidates for epilepsy surgery. Vagus nerve stimulation, corpus callosotomy, and the ketogenic diet are all options for selected children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The epidemiology, clinical manifestations of the seizures, electroencephalographic characteristics, prognosis, and treatment options are reviewed for infantile spasms and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Additional therapies are needed for both infantile spasms and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome as many children fail to achieve adequate seizure control in spite of newer treatments.

Address: Pediatric Epilepsy Center, St. Louis Children's Hospital, MO 63110-1093, USA. [email protected]

DOI: 10.1177/08830738020170021201

Link outs

Free resources

Medical:

https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/lennox-...

Subscription / membership required

Full Text Sources:

MeSH Terms: Anticonvulsants, Child, Child, Preschool, Corpus Callosum, Diet Therapy, Electric Stimulation Therapy, Electroencephalography, Epilepsy, Absence, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Patient Selection, Prognosis, Spasms, Infantile, Syndrome, Treatment Outcome, Vagus Nerve