Patient's question:
What are the causes of infantile spasms? Please provide a detailed introduction. The child has been diagnosed with infantile spasms.Doctor's answer:
Infantile spasms can be classified into flexor spasms, extensor spasms, and mixed spasms. Flexor spasms are the most common, characterized by flexion of the neck, trunk, upper limbs, and lower limbs, with the child suddenly nodding, the upper limbs adducting into a ball-like posture, and then extending outward. The intensity of muscle contraction varies among different children or during different episodes in the same child. Mild cases may only manifest as head shaking or shrugging of the shoulders, while severe abdominal muscle contractions can cause the trunk to appear like a folded knife. Extensor spasms are less common,、，、. Mixed spasms are more frequent, with some episodes in the child being flexor spasms and others being extensor spasms. This classification of helps in understanding infantile spasms but has little significance for treatment and prognosis. In rare cases, there may be asymmetrical or unilateral spasms, seen in children with severe unilateral brain developmental abnormalities and/or corpus callosum dysgenesis.