Patient's question:
What are the early symptoms of infantile spasms? Do they manifest as convulsions?Doctor's answer:
When a child is a few months old and exhibits head-bending, bowing-like spasms, this condition may be infantile spasms. Infantile spasms, apart from causing generalized convulsions, are more serious because they can also lead to intellectual disabilities in children. Once diagnosed, treatment should be initiated immediately. The earlier the treatment begins, the less severe the brain damage in the affected child may be. Currently, the main medications used to treat infantile spasms are nitrazepam and hormones. When both are used in combination, the therapeutic effect is even better. During the course of medication, it is essential to administer the drugs to the child regularly to maintain the necessary effective blood concentration. To prevent the recurrence of infantile spasms and their transformation into tonic-clonic seizures or psychomotor seizures, the medication dosage should not be reduced even after the spasms have completely stopped. Instead, the child should continue taking the medication for two to four years, and then gradually taper off under the guidance of a doctor until...