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Effectiveness of ACTH in Patients with Infantile Spasms. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12020254. [PMID: 35204017 PMCID: PMC8870252 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12020254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: West syndrome is a severe, refractory, epileptic syndrome that usually appears in infancy or early childhood. ACTH is one of the more effective drugs for treating this condition. (2)Aim of the study and methods: The objective of our study was to examine short-term efficacy (during treatment schedule) and long-term outcome of intramuscular 0.02 mg/kg/day ACTH (tetracosactide) depot, used concomitantly with other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in patients with infantile spasms who did not achieve seizure cessation or relapse when taking only the AEDs. The drug efficacy was evaluated in retrospective and prospective analyses of 50 patients diagnosed with infantile spasms. (3) Results: Complete cessation of spasms was achieved in 42 cases (84%). EEG improvement was seen in 41 (82%) patients who responded to ACTH therapy. Information on the clinical course of 28 patients was obtained duringlong-term follow-up. In 17 (60.7%) cases, seizures were still present. Normal or near-normal development was observed in 11 out of 28 children (39%). ACTH used concomitantly with other AEDis a highly effective treatment with acceptable side effects. (4) Conclusion: Randomized controlled clinical trialswith long-term follow-up are needed to compare the effectiveness of ACTH in polytherapy and monotherapy.Dyskinesias as a potential side effect observed in our study group should be investigated in the following studies.
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Saleh DA, Hassan A. Clinical profile, treatment modalities, and outcomes in patients with infantile spasms: A retrospective study from the United Arab of Emirates (UAE). Epilepsy Behav 2022; 127:108519. [PMID: 34999500 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Infantile spasms (IS) are an epileptic encephalopathy where the prognosis is generally poor, with most patients exhibiting psychomotor retardation or intractable epilepsy. However, it is claimed that early and aggressive treatment is related to better response rate and outcome, especially in patients with idiopathic IS. OBJECTIVE To investigate different treatment modalities and outcomes in patients with IS attending a pediatric neurology clinic at a specialized neurology center in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. METHODS Retrospective chart review was done for detailed history, demographic data, etiology, neuro-diagnostic workup, treatment modalities, and the outcomes for all patients diagnosed with IS from September 2014 to September 2019. RESULTS Three treatment modalities were identified as 1st line- Prednisolone United Kingdom Infantile Spasms Study (UKISS) (N = 15, 46.8%), Anti-Seizure Medications (ASMs) (N = 12, 37.5%), and Vigabatrin (N = 5, 15.6%). The complete response rate to Vigabatrin as a 1st line treatment showed the highest statistical significance (X2 = 7.34, p = 0.007). Patients with idiopathic IS showed a comparable response to treatment to those with symptomatic IS. Additional response to 2nd line treatment with Prednisolone UKISS protocol (25%) and Vigabatrin (15%) was noted in patients who showed partial or no response to the 1st line treatment. None of our patients received Adrenocorticotropic Hormone as treatment. All patients with desirable final outcomes were with idiopathic IS and none were symptomatic. CONCLUSION More than a third of our patients showed poor treatment response whenever they were not offered treatment according to the current available protocols. This indicates an urgent need for having a unified treatment protocol that takes into consideration the availability of medications, professional expertise as well as diagnostic workup outside major tertiary care centers in our region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dina Amin Saleh
- Division of Neurology, American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Abeera Hassan
- Division of Neurology, American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
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Barbarrosa EP, Tovani-Palone MR, Ferrer IDLCP. West Syndrome: Clinical Characteristics, Therapeutics, Outcomes and Prognosis. ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF GENERAL MEDICINE 2020. [DOI: 10.29333/ejgm/7800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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Etiologic classification of infantile spasms using positron emission/magnetic resonance imaging and the efficacy of adrenocorticotropic hormone therapy. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2020; 47:1585-1595. [PMID: 31901104 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-019-04665-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The aim of this study was to investigate if the etiologic classification of infantile spasm (IS) using positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MR) is feasible. Based on the classified etiologic groups, we further evaluated the efficacy of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) therapy in different IS groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred fifty-five children diagnosed with IS were included in this study. A qualitative assessment of the PET/MR images was performed. The abnormal lesions localized with both MR and PET images were considered to be epileptic foci, and the patients with these lesions were classified into the structural-metabolic group. For the remaining patients, quantitative analyses were further performed on whole-brain T1-weighted (T1WI) and PET images, based on the asymmetry index of bilateral volumes and metabolic quantifications. Patients with asymmetry indices above a certain threshold (15%) were classified into the structural-metabolic group. The patients without positive finding from either qualitative or quantitative analyses were assigned to the unknown etiology group. The efficacy of ACTH therapy was evaluated in the different IS groups. RESULTS Among the 155 children with IS, 18 genetic cases were first diagnosed by the genetic testing. In the remaining 137 cases, 49 cases were identified with structural-metabolic etiology using qualitative PET/MR assessments. Fifty-two cases were newly diagnosed with quantitative analysis. The remaining 36 cases were classified into the unknown etiology group. The efficacy of ACTH therapy was statistically different for the different etiology groups (p < 0.001). The respective efficacy rates for the genetic, qualitative structural-metabolic, quantitative structural-metabolic, and unknown etiology groups were 27.8% (5/18), 30.61% (15/49), 34.62% (18/52), and 72.22% (26/36), respectively. CONCLUSIONS The combination of PET and MR provides additional diagnostic information for IS. Quantitative analysis can further improve patient etiologic classifications and the predication of therapy efficacies.
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Optimized Treatment for Infantile Spasms: Vigabatrin versus Prednisolone versus Combination Therapy. J Clin Med 2019; 8:jcm8101591. [PMID: 31581698 PMCID: PMC6832624 DOI: 10.3390/jcm8101591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Revised: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 09/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Hormone therapies and vigabatrin are first-line agents in infantile spasms, but more than one-third of patients fail to respond to these treatments. This was a retrospective study of patients with infantile spasms who were treated between January 2005 and December 2017. We analyzed the response rates of initial treatment and second-line treatment. Responders were defined as those in whom cessation of spasms was observed for a period of at least one month, within 2 weeks of treatment initiation. Regarding the response rate to initial treatment, combination therapy of vigabatrin with prednisolone showed a significantly better response than that of vigabatrin monotherapy (55.3% vs. 39.1%, p = 0.037). Many drugs, such as clobazam, topiramate, and levetiracetam, were used as second-line agents after the failure of vigabatrin. Among these, no antiepileptic drug showed as good a response as prednisolone. For patients who used prednisolone, the proportion of responders was significantly higher in the higher-dose group (≥40 mg/day) than in the lower-dose group (66.7% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.028). Further studies of combination therapy to assess dosage protocols and long-term outcomes are needed.
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Abstract
Infantile spasms, and specifically within the context of West syndrome , is one of the most common epileptic encephalopathies to occur in early infancy. Early recognition and treatment can improve neurodevelopmental outcome in some cases, although the underlying aetiology is probably the most important prognostic factor in both spasm suppression and developmental outcome. Corticosteroids, either adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) or prednisolone, and vigabatrin are currently the preferred first-line treatment options. Vigabatrin is the treatment of choice when the underlying cause is tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Emerging evidence suggests that a combination of steroid and vigabatrin may be more effective in the suppression of spasms and resolution of hypsarrhythmia, the electro-encephalographic signal of spasms. Several other anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) (levetiracetam, nitrazepam, sodium valproate, topiramate, zonisamide) are usually used as add-on or adjunctive treatment in refractory cases. Pyridoxine (or pyridoxal phosphate) and the ketogenic diet are established treatment options in refractory cases. There is some evidence that neuro-active steroids, including ganaxolone, may be effective; however, clinical trials undertaken intermittently for over a decade have yet to prove their efficacy, not only for the suppression of infantile spasms but also for the resolution of hypsarrhythmia, which may be as important as seizure control in developmental outcome in these children. Insights into developing novel treatment options have emerged from rodent models of infantile spasms, and research is continuing into the efficacy of rapamycin in improving outcomes in infantile spasms. This review provides a brief overview of the existing scientific literature around treatment options and outlines emerging newer treatment options in infantile spasms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anand Iyer
- The Roald Dahl Department of Neurophysiology, Alder Hey in the Park Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Eaton Road, Liverpool, L12 2AP, UK.
| | - Richard Appleton
- The Roald Dahl Department of Neurophysiology, Alder Hey in the Park Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Eaton Road, Liverpool, L12 2AP, UK
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Iype M, Saradakutty G, Kunju PAM, Mohan D, Nair MKC, George B, Ahamed SM. Infantile spasms: A prognostic evaluation. Ann Indian Acad Neurol 2016; 19:228-35. [PMID: 27293335 PMCID: PMC4888687 DOI: 10.4103/0972-2327.173314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Few papers address the comprehensive prognosis in infantile spasms and look into the seizure profile and psychomotor outcome. Objective: We aimed to follow up children with infantile spasms to study: a) the etiology, demographics, semiology, electroencephalogram (EEG), and radiological pattern; b) seizure control, psychomotor development, and EEG resolution with treatment; c) the effects of various factors on the control of spasms, resolution of EEG changes, and psychomotor development at 3-year follow-up. Materials and Methods: Fifty newly diagnosed cases with a 1-12 month age of onset and who had hypsarrhythmia in their EEG were recruited and 43 were followed up for 3 years. Results: Of the children followed up, 51% were seizure-free and 37% had a normal EEG at the 3-year follow-up. Autistic features were seen in 74% of the children. Only 22.7% among the seizure-free (11.6% of the total) children had normal vision and hearing, speech with narration, writing skills, gross and fine motor development, and no autism or hyperactivity. On multivariate analysis, two factors could predict bad seizure outcome — the occurrence of other seizures in addition to infantile spasms and no response to 28 days of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). No predictor could be identified for abnormal psychomotor development. Discussion and Conclusion: In our study, we could demonstrate two factors that predict seizure freedom. The cognitive outcome and seizure control in this group of children are comparable to the existing literature. However, the cognitive outcome revealed by our study and the survey of the literature are discouraging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Iype
- Department of Paediatric Neurology, Government Medical College, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
| | - Geetha Saradakutty
- Department of Paediatrics, Government Medical College, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
| | | | - Devi Mohan
- Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Government Medical College, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
| | | | - Babu George
- Department of Pediatrics, Child Development Centre, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
| | - Shahanaz M Ahamed
- Department of Paediatrics, Government Medical College, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
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Gataullina S, Dulac O. Current and future treatment of infantile spasms. Expert Opin Orphan Drugs 2015. [DOI: 10.1517/21678707.2015.1086332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Chellamuthu P, Sharma S, Jain P, Kaushik JS, Seth A, Aneja S. High dose (4mg/kg/day) versus usual dose (2mg/kg/day) oral prednisolone for treatment of infantile spasms: An open-label, randomized controlled trial. Epilepsy Res 2014; 108:1378-84. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2014.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2014] [Revised: 06/11/2014] [Accepted: 06/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Kaushik JS, Patra B, Sharma S, Yadav D, Aneja S. Clinical spectrum and treatment outcome of West Syndrome in children from Northern India. Seizure 2013; 22:617-21. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seizure.2013.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2012] [Revised: 04/12/2013] [Accepted: 04/14/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
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Abstract
The treatment of neonatal seizures has not changed significantly over the last 50 years despite advances in antiepileptic drug (AED) development for older children and adults. Recently new drugs have emerged some of which address age-specific challenges or mechanisms and will be discussed in this review. The loop diuretic bumetanide blocks the neuronal NKCC1 co-transporter and is thought specifically to supress seizures in the immature brain. Levetiracetam has been used in children and infants with good efficacy, an excellent safety profile, and near-ideal pharmacokinetic characteristics. Randomised controlled trials are now underway to test the efficacy of some newer AEDs for neonatal seizures. Topiramate has been shown to have neuroprotective properties in addition to its antiepileptic action and trials in babies with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy are now planned. There is an urgent need to develop age-specific AEDs for preterm and term babies. These drugs must be evaluated with multicentre, collaborative trials using innovative methods and high ethical standards to overcome age-specific challenges with the ultimate aim of improving the outcome for neonates with seizures.
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Abstract
OPINION STATEMENT Infantile spasms (IS) represent a major therapeutic challenge, as cessation of spasms and normalization of the electroencephalogram (elimination of hypsarrhythmia) are mandatory to prevent cognitive deterioration in previously healthy infants, or to preserve neurocognitive function among those neurologically affected prior to onset of IS. Traditionally, this epilepsy syndrome has been considered a "catastrophic" epilepsy, not only for its frequent refractoriness, but mostly due to its effect on cognition. Nevertheless, a change of attitude among pediatric epileptologists is probably warranted, as enough evidence and clinical experience demonstrate that early, aggressive therapy, especially with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), may not only lead to cessation of spasms, but often leads to the cure of infants with idiopathic/cryptogenic IS. Some ACTH protocols such as that prescribed in Israel (tetracosactide ACTH) appear to be highly efficacious in guarantying a good or even excellent prognosis in idiopathic IS. Moreover, oral prednisolone is a promising and much less expensive alternative to IM ACTH. Vigabatrin does have a role as a first-line agent, especially for tuberous sclerosis patients, but evidence supports hormonal therapy as the initial treatment. The role of pyridoxine and the ketogenic diet still needs to be established; given the efficacy of a much shorter tetracosactide ACTH protocol, there may be no need for the long-term diet, despite its efficacy. Finally, a very promising drug has been developed (CP-115) that may altogether replace the current therapeutic regimens in the near future.
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