Abstract
Epileptic spasms in West syndrome consist of a brief phasic contraction followed by
a gradually relaxing tonic component, associated with typical ictal electroencephalographic
(EEG) patterns. Three different EEG patterns are associated with a clinical spasm:
fast wave bursts, high voltage slow waves (HVS), and desynchronization, occurring
in this order. HVS are consistently seen and correspond to a clinical spasm, but usually
preceded by fast wave bursts, which may be associated with an inhibition of muscle
activity. Epileptic spasms can be classified into: symmetric spasms, asymmetric/asynchronous
spasms, focal spasms, spasms with partial seizures, subtle spasms, spasms preceded
by brief atonia, or subclinical spasms. Although clinical spasms are usually symmetric,
ictal fast waves are always localized, and the following slow waves are not bilaterally
synchronous and generalized, suggesting a focal cortical origin of spasms.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
May 31,
2001
Received in revised form:
May 28,
2001
Received:
May 9,
2001
Identification
Copyright
© 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
