Question
The baby, at twelve months and two months old, began to exhibit occasional consecutive nodding, with each instance lasting about two or three nods, the movement was slow, and the frequency varied, sometimes occurring every few days, and sometimes several times a day. In terms of motor development, the child seems to be slower than peers, is unable to stand alone yet, but can walk with support, has good crawling skills, and can even climb onto the sofa. Intellectually, the child has a strong understanding of language, can understand many things spoken to them, but can only produce limited sounds like ‘Dad’, ‘Mom’, ‘Gaga’. Suspicions arise that this might be a problem caused by prenatal hypoxia.
Answer
The characteristic of infantile spasms syndrome is frequent and brief nodding movements, accompanied by flexion movements of the body and arms, forming a posture similar to an ’embrace’. Each episode may last for a few seconds and may occur in a series, with each series consisting of several to hundreds of episodes, and may occur several to dozens of times a day. Infants with infantile spasms syndrome may also experience symptoms such as regression in intellectual development, cerebral palsy, vision or hearing impairments due to varying degrees of brain damage. It is recommended to undergo EEG and MRI examinations at a regular hospital for the diagnosis of infantile spasms; the typical EEG findings are crucial for diagnosing this condition in infants.