What is (are) Early Infantile Epileptic Encephalopathy ?
Ohtahara syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by seizures.  The disorder affects newborns, usually within the first three months of life (most often within the first 10 days) in the form of epileptic seizures.  Infants have primarily tonic seizures (which cause stiffening of muscles of the body, generally those in the back, legs, and arms), but may also experience partial seizures, and rarely, myoclonic seizures (which cause jerks or twitches of the upper body, arms, or legs). Ohtahara syndrome is most commonly caused by metabolic disorders or structural damage in the brain, although the cause or causes for many cases cant be determined. Most infants with the disorder show significant underdevelopment of part or all of the cerebral hemispheres.  The EEGs of infants with Ohtahara syndrome reveal a characteristic pattern of high voltage spike wave discharge followed by little activity.  This pattern is known as burst suppression. The seizures associated with Ohtahara syndrome are difficult to treat and the syndrome is severely progressive. Some children with this condition go on to develop other epileptic disorders such as West syndrome and Lennox-Gestaut syndrome.