Epileptic encephalopathy is not a sentence for a child and his parents. Perhaps this statement should be voiced first. Any illness in a baby causes fear in parents, which is a completely normal reaction. Below we will consider a disease that affects the neurons of the brain and can lead to pathological developmental abnormalities if proper attention is not paid to diagnosis and treatment.
Characteristics of the disease
Epileptic encephalopathy (EE) is a disease diagnosed in childhood. The term "encephalopathy" itself comes from the Greek language and means a disease of the brain. Due to increased bioelectrical activity, organic damage to the brain occurs, which leads to the development of the disease.
Epileptic encephalopathy in children is characterized by impaired cognitive and behavioral functions caused by neurologicaldisorders and abnormal neural connections. The disease manifests itself in the first months of a child's life, the frequency of occurrence of this pathology is low, it does not occur so often. Medical statistics show that most often the pathology is found in male infants.
At school and adolescence, and even more so in adults, the disease is diagnosed in extremely rare cases, this is rather an exception.
Causes of disease development
The very possibility that a child will be diagnosed with such a diagnosis horrifies future parents. To understand how, where and why epileptic encephalopathy develops in children, you need to study the main causes of the onset of the disease.
Catalysts for EE can be a variety of factors:
- The disease can be triggered by genetic changes in the baby's body. Chromosomal abnormalities and genetic mutations often occur when Angelman syndrome is diagnosed.
- Neoplasms in the brain also provoke the development of epileptic encephalopathy.
- Failures in the formation and development of the central nervous system of the baby. CNS defects at an early age directly affect the manifestation of symptoms of the disease.
- A mother's difficult pregnancy can provoke a future illness in the baby. Risk factors include an incorrect term for bearing a child, a complicated birth process, the presence of bad habits in a pregnant woman, even minor head injuries.
- Mental disorders of future parents (even one parent) are oftenlead to malfunctions in the development of the brain in a child, and therefore increase the risk of early epileptic encephalopathy.
In addition to hereditary factors that affect the future generation, a woman during pregnancy should be as vigilant as possible about her own he alth. All possible suspicions and deviations must be reported to the doctor immediately.
Pathogenesis of disease
According to ICD 10, epileptic encephalopathy belongs to section G40 "Epilepsy". The disease develops against the background of disturbances at the time of formation of brain regions. How the pathology manifests itself in the future depends on the stage of brain maturation at which the onset of the disease occurred.
If the main blow fell on the left hemisphere, then this will affect the development of the child's speech functions. The defeat of the right hemisphere will lead to articulation disorders, abnormal monotony of speech. If the main focus is located in the region of the middle parts of the brain, then the child's behavior suffers first of all, both towards autism and towards increased aggressiveness.
Epileptic encephalopathy affects the emotional background, as well as memory features.
Disease types
Medicine has been studying the described disease for a long time in order to reduce the risk of its development. During this time, scientists have identified several major syndromes that are considered varieties of EE:
- Aicardi Syndrome. This disease manifests itself in earlyinfancy, in the neonatal period (up to 28 days from birth). Considered a rare manifestation of this pathology, it affects girls in most cases.
- West Syndrome. Epileptic encephalopathy, characterized by infantile spasms, appears between the ages of 3 months and 1 year.
- Drave's Syndrome. It is considered a severe infantile pathology, characterized by myoclonic seizures, as well as focal seizures.
- Otahara Syndrome. Develops at an early age, characterized by mental disabilities in the development of the child.
- Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Accompanied by convulsions of atonic and tonic character. Children have neurodevelopmental delays.
Based on medical clinical data, experts identify Vesta epileptic encephalopathy as the most common pathology of EE in infants. A similar diagnosis is made in 40% of cases of the disease in question. In addition to disorders in mental development, the appearance of convulsions and spasms, the disease can affect the motor abilities of the child.
Over time, the disease of West syndrome can move into a different stage, more often it transforms into Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. This occurs after the age of one year and before the age of seven years of the child.
Main symptoms in children
Symptomatics of the disease in children can be different, much depends on the age of the child, the stage and type of pathology, as well as on the part of the brain in which the main focus is localized.
Similarpathology requires early diagnosis and timely treatment in order to avoid the development of complications. For this reason, it is imperative to watch for warning signs.
In infants under one year of age, symptoms may include:
- unreasonable prolonged crying;
- unnatural reaction to light and sounds;
- frequent tilting of the head;
- unstable heart rate;
- disturbances in the baby's sucking reflex.
Doctors also pay attention to increased muscle tone, frequent unreasonable shudders. It is important to understand that such manifestations do not always indicate a disease, such reactions can also appear in he althy children, be irregular or regular. Diagnosis is very difficult, it is for this reason that the baby in the first months of life should regularly undergo medical supervision.
Signs of illness in children older than three years are as follows:
- sleep disturbance, frequent daytime sleepiness;
- hearing and visual impairments;
- memory deterioration;
- asymmetric reflexes;
- regular headaches.
At this age, epileptic encephalopathy is the result of another disease, such as measles, chickenpox or scarlet fever. EE acts as a complication against the background of another disease. In some cases, the disease is accompanied by a sharp increase in temperature.
The disease can also develop at school age, although such cases are rare. With such predictions, the disease willcharacterized by a sudden loss of interest in knowledge, increased irritability, apathy or depression. It is important to pay special attention to the he alth of the child after a tick bite.
Symptoms of the disease are quite blurred, they can talk about completely different pathologies or just fatigue. For this reason, the child's condition requires careful and competent diagnosis.
Consequences and complications
Leaving a child's uncharacteristic behavior unattended is dangerous at any age. Of course, in any manifestations of care, you need to know the measure, but systematic deviations should alert parents.
Without proper treatment, epileptic encephalopathy can lead to serious impairments in the mental and physical development of a child, up to disability at an early age.
The degree of possible complications for future he alth depends on the number of neurons that die in the child's brain.
Competent diagnosis
As mentioned above, the diagnosis of the disease is laborious and complex. The child must undergo a complex of laboratory procedures and clinical studies.
For a correct diagnosis you need:
- Visit to a neurologist who should take a primary history of the disease. This happens in the process of talking with parents and the child (if he is at the appropriate age). The doctor also evaluates the main reflexes, the speed of reaction to external stimuli.
- To determine the nature of the functioning, blood supply and structure of the brain is assigneda whole range of procedures: EEG, MRI, ultrasound.
- A visit to a psychiatrist who focuses on the behavioral and emotional characteristics of the patient.
- For children over the age of 5, psychological tests are also recommended to identify possible deviations in the emotional perception of the world.
- A number of laboratory tests are prescribed to help determine the patient's metabolic status, identify possible comorbidities, and specify the syndrome of epileptic encephalopathy.
Only after passing a wide range of examinations, the doctor is able to make a diagnosis, start forming a treatment regimen.
Treatment methods
In most cases, the disease has a slow development, which allows medicine to take the necessary measures in a timely manner. With early diagnosis, treatment begins in the hospital.
First of all, drugs are prescribed that normalize cerebral circulation and intracranial pressure. At older ages, the list of recommended drugs expands.
If we talk about treatment in general, then the following groups of medicines are used:
- Tranquilizers.
- Anti-epileptic drugs.
- Nootropics.
- Vasodilatory drugs.
- Amino acids and vitamin complexes.
- Sedatives.
Medical therapy is not enough for a complete recovery, it is important to resort to methodsphysiotherapy treatment:
- Massage.
- Breathing exercises.
- Reflexology.
- Acupuncture.
- Swimming.
Competent complex treatment of epileptic encephalopathy in children will allow you to fully recover. After treatment, it is recommended to visit a neurologist twice a year to monitor your he alth.
Prognosis for recovery
With epileptic encephalopathy in children, the prognosis for recovery depends on several factors:
- Timely diagnosis.
- The degree of disease in which it is found.
- Compliance with all prescriptions of the attending physician.
If the disease is mild, then the chances of recovery are almost 100%. In the case of an acute form of pathology, treatment becomes more complicated. The disease rapidly destroys brain neurons, which, if not properly treated, can cause swelling and coma.
Speaking of statistical predictions of epileptic encephalopathy, experts recommend not to panic, about a third of children recover completely. The main thing is to pay attention to the symptoms in time and consult a doctor.
Disease prevention measures
The nature of the disease makes it difficult to prevent. As has already become clear, the disease is diagnosed in infancy and can have various causes.
The main thing - the expectant mother must remember that the he alth of the unborn baby depends on her he alth. At the time of gestation, it is extremely important to abandon harmfulhabits and calculate in advance the risks of developing possible pathologies (modern medicine has the necessary spectrum of tests).
Medical practice and expert advice
As already mentioned, early diagnosis plays an important role in the treatment of epileptic encephalopathy. Based on this statement, doctors recommend being extremely vigilant about the he alth of your own child in order to prevent the development of irreversible abnormalities.
A competent doctor will always be able to recognize the disease and choose the necessary treatment.
Average cost of treating a disease
It is extremely difficult to calculate the average price for the entire complex of treating a child for epileptic encephalopathy. The cost of various procedures varies and depends on the region of residence and the level of medical care.
In addition to diagnosis, the process of treatment and recovery itself will require additional cash injections. Modern realities are such that government agencies may not have the necessary equipment.
