Infantile Spasms
What is an "infantile spasm"?
Infantile spasms are very jerky muscular movements that occur in very young children, infants usually from a few months after birth to about one or two years of age. These infantile spasms are thought to be uncontrolled seizures, mioclonic type seizures. However, to actually call these seizures is not something I am comfortable with. Do children with infantile spasms develop seizures later on? This is another open question.
What triggers an infantile spasm?
We don't know very much about the triggering of infantile spasms. Infantile spasms occur in young infants who lack the ability to communicate in the English language, or whatever language it may be that you're speaking, so it's very hard to know what triggers it. Infantile spasms are usually observed while the infant is in the crib, and do not occur during the sleep cycle, at least not as frequently as the do when the infant is awake.
What happens to the brain and body during an infantile spasm?
In terms of the body, there is some muscular movement. There's probably contractions of both the extensor and the flexor muscels at various joints in the limbs. And this is undoubtedly going to lead to these kind of jerky spasmic movements of the limbs. I believe, this is just as a neuroscientist talking, could very well be motor learning of certain muscle groups for the brain. As you know, the body is composed of motor neurons that innervate individual muscle fibers and we don't innervate one or two in a sequence, but we, it's like a grand pianist playing a piano. We hit various notes at different times and we have a very coordinated movement. I believe this is a way in which a developing brain is learning these different musical scores, so to speak, of movement.
What are the dangers of infantile spasms?
The dangers of infantile spasms are that they might go on for an extended period of time. Now, what that extended period of time is does vary with the individual person. I would definitely take the child to the pediatrician, who would be very adept at diagnosing this. If they don't occur very often, I would be reluctant then to treat with any medicines. However, if they are more common then they might require medication.
What treatments are available for an infant who has frequent infantile spasms?
The treatment for children with frequent infantile spasms is usually a choice of one of the AEDs - antiepileptic drugs - that are out there. Topiramate is one that can be used and Vigabatrin is another. These frequent infantile spasm medicines should be experimented, by trial and error. Start with one, see if it has an effect; end it, go with another one. The parents should be very patient and the good news is that infants usually grow out of this type of seizure.
What do I do if I see an infant experiencing infantile spasms?
You should not be alarmed if you see your infant on its back and moving its arms and legs and contracting and extending, this is a normal part of motor development for a young infant. This is just par for the course, so just don't panic. However, if these movements are repetitive and are exceeding more than 3 seconds, then I would be alarmed and my advice is to see a doctor.