Epidemiology of infantile spasms in Sweden.
We performed a retrospective study of infantile spasms (IS) in 57 children (19 girls and 38 boys) from the east-central region of Sweden for the period 1987-1991. The incidence was 0.45/1,000 newborns a year, with a spread of 0.17-0.76 between the seven counties included. Forty-three cases (75%) were symptomatic and 14 (25%) were idiopathic. Cerebral malformations were diagnosed in 8 children, and chromosomal aberrations were diagnosed in 5. In addition, 2 children each were diagnosed as having tuberous sclerosis and neurofibromatosis. At follow-up, 57% in the idiopathic group had normal development, whereas 91% in the symptomatic group had died or developed a multihandicap. The value of modern neuroradiological techniques for etiological diagnosis is stressed.
Sidenvall
R
R
Uppsala University Children's Hospital, Sweden.
Eeg-Olofsson
O
O
D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D017253:Neurofibromatoses / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013036:Spasms, Infantile / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014402:Tuberous Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology