Vesta Syndrome

For the first time strange infantile spasms were described by the West in 1841. It was then about his own son. Especially stressed continuously progressive symptomatology in psychomotor. The disease was considered incurable.

Vesta's syndrome included a triad of characteristic symptoms - repetitive series of spasms, inhibition of psychomotor development, pronounced changes (paroxysmal) on EEG. The onset is gradual, the first symptoms may well appear even in healthy children, although usually observed against a background of pronounced psychomotor delay. It is more often observed in children in four to six months, but the disease is not excluded later (up to four years). Boys are more prone to the disease.

Infantile spasms are more often symmetrical, bilateral, brief, with a sudden contraction of muscle groups. The nature of the attacks depends on the groups involved (flexor, extensor). Spasms can spread either to all muscles or to separate muscles (neck muscles, abdominal muscles ). Usually there are spasms mixed, behind them in the prevalence - flexor, even more rarely - extensor. In addition, the observed spasm directly depends on the specific position of the body.

Syndrome Vesta is more often recognized by flexor spasms. If the abdominal muscles-flexors are involved, then the body can generally develop in half. When the upper limbs are involved, the movements of lead-offs are made by hands (it seems that the child begins to embrace himself). When the muscles of the neck flexors are involved, the seizures are similar to the nodding of the head. If the muscles of the shoulder girdle are involved, the child, as it were, shrugs. Spasms can be limited to nystagmoid movements or twitching of the eyeball. There may be a violation of breathing. These are the first symptoms of epilepsy.

The type of spasms from the etiology does not depend, nor does it make it possible to predict the development of the disease. However, the presence of symmetry plays a role (asymmetry indicates a cortical lesion). Asymmetric spasms are determined, for example, by the lateral leads of the eyes or head.

Cramps usually appear after waking up, or when the baby falls asleep. The interval between them is less than a minute. The intensity increases, then decreases. The frequency varies from single spasms to hundreds a day. May be caused by a loud sound or tactile.

After spasms, a period of reduced reactivity comes. Children who are already walking may suddenly fall (drop-attacks).

Vest syndrome is the most common type of epileptic encephalopathy leading to cognitive impairment. About the prevention of data yet.

Vest syndrome occurs for various reasons. Asphyxia of the newborn is the most frequent. In addition, the cause may be a congenital anomaly of the brain, intracranial hemorrhages, etc. Sometimes it is impossible to determine the cause of the development of the disease.

If your child has Vest syndrome, treatment should begin immediately. Perhaps you will be prescribed only medical therapy, and it is possible that surgery will also be required, which will remove the pathological focus located somewhere in the brain. Alas, the opportunity to detect this hearth is not always, and in some cases, even if detected, it is impossible to remove it.

With drug therapy, you will need to take a course of taking special, individually selected antiepileptic drugs. Cessation of seizures will indicate the success of therapy, however, treatment will need to continue until fifteen (and this is a minimum) months. Clinical experience suggests a stable remission of the disease in 60% of babies, in others, seizures, unfortunately, are resumed.

According to Israeli doctors, with diseases with the form of a cryptogenic prognosis is much better. Intense therapy removes seizures, the child "outgrows" the syndrome, the delay in development is adjusted by developing games. With a symptomatic form, the prognosis is worse. If it is possible to remove seizures and eliminate the source of the onset of the disease (malformation, tumor, cyst), the chances of correction will remain high.