title: Visual inattention in West syndrome: a neuropsychological and neurofunctional imaging study.
abstract: Visual behavior is frequently impaired at onset of West syndrome (WS). We studied the neuropsychological outcome of eight children who had cryptogenic WS and moderate to severe visual impairment at the onset of epilepsy. At the last examination, a regional cerebral blood flow study using SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) was performed. The behavior abnormalities observed initially evolved to various defects of cognitive function. Three patients had severe mental retardation with autistic features. Two had marked speech disorders but one had global cognitive impairment. Three patients had specific visual-spatial deficits. SPECT showed perfusion defects involving the parieto-occipital areas in 6 of 8 patients. These abnormalities were restricted to parieto-occipital regions in the three patients with selective visual-spatial deficits, whereas they were associated with other perfusion defects in the three remaining patients. This study demonstrates that the visual inattention observed at the onset of WS is frequently associated with long-term cognitive and/or perfusion defects involving the parieto-occipital regions.
authors.affiliation: Neuropediatric Department, Hôpital Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Paris, France.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jambaqué
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chiron
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dulac
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Raynaud
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Syrota
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013036:Spasms, Infantile / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes
chemical_list: D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes