Abstract
Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) therapy is a widely used and effective treatment
for West syndrome. However, serious adverse effects can occur during or shortly after
ACTH therapy. Synthetic ACTH has been reported to cause more adverse effects than
natural ACTH. Currently, most Japanese pediatric neurologists try other non-hormonal
treatments before using ACTH therapy, but even then, they use extremely low dosages
of synthetic ACTH. The extremely low-dose synthetic ACTH therapy currently used in
Japan is as effective for treatment of West syndrome as the higher doses reported
in previous studies from Japan and Western countries. The dosage and duration of synthetic
ACTH therapy should be as low as possible to avoid serious adverse effects. Close
monitoring of the adverse effects, especially subdural hematoma, is necessary even
when extremely low dosages of ACTH are administered.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
August 11,
2001
Received in revised form:
August 8,
2001
Received:
May 9,
2001
Identification
Copyright
© 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
