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Head growth in infants with infantile spasms may be temporarily reduced

Zvonka Rener-Primec1, Jana Lozar-Krivec, Uros Krivec

  • 1Department of Child, Adolescent and Developmental Neurology, University Children's Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia. zvonka.rener@mf.uni-lj.si

Pediatric Neurology
|August 31, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Infants with infantile spasms may experience temporary head growth reduction. Head circumference below the tenth percentile predicts later mental retardation in these children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Developmental Neuroscience

Background:

  • Epileptic activity, a feature of epileptic encephalopathies, can impede brain development.
  • Infantile spasms (IS) represent a specific epileptic syndrome affecting infants.
  • The impact of IS on head growth rates has not been previously investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the rate of head growth in infants diagnosed with infantile spasms.
  • To determine if head circumference measurements can predict mental outcomes in infants with IS.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective study involving 38 infants with infantile spasms.
  • Analysis of head circumference measurements during the period of spasms.
  • Assessment of mental outcomes at follow-up.

Main Results:

  • While mean head circumference was not significantly smaller than normal, a higher proportion (27%) of infants with IS had head circumference below the tenth percentile.
  • Head circumference below the tenth percentile at 4-5 months post-IS onset significantly correlated with later mental retardation (P = 0.004).
  • No correlation was found between specific IS treatments and head circumference outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • Transiently diminished head growth in infants with IS temporally aligns with spasm onset and can recover during remission.
  • Epileptic activity during sensitive developmental periods may negatively influence brain growth.
  • Head circumference serves as a reliable predictor of mental outcomes in children with infantile spasms.

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