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Hyperventilation-induced seizures in mentally impaired children
1Boston Neurobehavioral Institute, Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital, MA 02115.
Seizure
|September 1, 1993
Insights
Hyperventilation can trigger seizures in children with profound developmental delay. Modifying breathing patterns effectively reduced seizure frequency in two cases.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Developmental Neuroscience
Background:
- Children with profound developmental delay often experience medically intractable seizures.
- Identifying specific seizure triggers is crucial for effective management.
Observation:
- Two children presented with severe developmental delay and intractable epilepsy.
- Hyperventilation was identified as a significant precipitating factor for seizures in both patients.
Findings:
- A targeted intervention involved training caregivers to modify the children's breathing patterns during hyperventilation episodes.
- This intervention led to a dramatic reduction in seizure frequency for both children.
Implications:
- Hyperventilation-induced seizures are a potentially manageable condition in children with developmental delay.
- Caregiver education and breathing modification techniques offer a promising non-pharmacological approach to seizure control.
Abstract:
Two children with profound development delay and medically intractable seizures were found to have hyperventilation-induced seizures. Following detection of this precipitating factor the parents, teachers and caretakers were taught to modify the childrens' breathing when they began to hyperventilate. In both patients this technique resulted in a dramatic decrease in seizure frequency.