TITLE:
Brain MRI Findings in Infantile Spasm: Outcome Correlations in a Patient Cohort
AUTHORS:
Alireza Khatami, Erick Sell, Mohamed Aggag, Elka Miller
KEYWORDS:
Infantile Spasm, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Brain Imaging, Infant, Vigabatrin
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Medical Imaging,
Vol.6 No.3,
September
12,
2016
ABSTRACT: Background: Infantile spasm is a type of
pediatric seizure often associated with a negative prognosis. The aim of this
study was to evaluate the role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in
categorization and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with infantile
spasm. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of the clinical charts and
MRI findings of infants diagnosed with infantile spasm between December 2007
and February 2014. Results: A total of 26 children (16 males; 1.6/1) were included:
8 of unknown etiology and 18 with a genetic/structural-metabolic causes. Unknown
etiology cases revealed normal brain MRI in 5/8 (62.5%). In the genetic/
structural-metabolic group, only 2/18 (11.1%) had normal imaging. Abnormal
imaging findings significantly correlated with genetic/structural-metabolic
infantile spasm which had unfavorable neurodevelopmental outcome. Conclusion:
Neuroimaging conveys substantial information to the further categorization of
children with infantile spasm, providing not only relevant information of the
underlying cause but also the prediction of the neurodevelopmental outcome.