Question

A friend’s child is now two years old and has been experiencing prolonged seizures during sleep at night. The parents are very concerned and want to take the child to the hospital for a check-up. What complications can infantile spasms cause?

Answer

The main complications of infantile spasms include intellectual development disorders, delayed growth, spasmodic paralysis, quadriplegia, and microcephaly. Intellectually, about 60% to 70% of patients have intellectual impairment in the early stages of the disease, and this proportion can increase to 85% to 90% by the age of two. Regardless of whether there was any intellectual delay before the onset of spasms, the appearance of spasm symptoms may lead to intellectual development disorders. In 95% of cases, there is a delay in psychomotor development.