[Childhood periodic syndromes and their long-term development]

The long term development of periodic syndromes among children is little known. Our research has revealed that about one third of periodic headaches, two thirds of cyclic vomiting and half the cases of recurring abdominal pain disappear either before puberty or during adolescence. Other Authors have shown that this also happens in most cases of early-onset vertigo. The remaining headache cases develop into migraines in adults. When there is persistent cyclic vomiting, the collateral neurologic phenomena (headaches, vertigo, pallor, hypotonia, drowsiness) become more intense. This also happens in some cases of abdominal pain and paroxysmal vertigo which start in late childhood. Other sufferers from acute abdominal pain develop ulcers, gastroduodenitis and colitis as adults. Altogether, some infantile periodic syndromes (in particular the multi-symptomatic ones) have a common outcome, i.e. develop into more or less typical migraine syndromes. In these cases one can presume a common pathogenetic mechanism. In those cases where the outcome is favorable the pathogenesis may be different. These cases may often be spotted in early childhood on account of the monosymptomatic nature of the complaint or the absence of collateral neurologic symptoms as well as of the infrequency of critical episodes.