Aetiology

There are multiple causes for IS which can be divided into the following groups:

• prenatal
  • accounts for over 40% of cases
  • aetiologies include
    • CNS malformations - focal cortical dysplasia, holoprosencephaly, hemimegalencephaly, Callosal agenesis/Aicardi syndrome
    • chromosomal abnormalities - trisomy 21, Miller-Dieker syndrome
    • single-gene errors
    • neurocutaneous syndrome - tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), NF1, incontinentia pigmenti
    • congenital central nervous system infections (TORCH)
    • in-born error of metabolism - rarely
• perinatal
  • aetiologies include
    • hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy
    • hypoglycemia
• postnatal
  • aetiologies include
    • intracranial infections
    • hypoxic-ischemic insults
    • brain tumours

Note:

• cortical malformations, hypoxic-ischemic, and tuberous sclerosis are the most common known associated disorders

Reference:

• (1) Taghdiri MM, Nemati H. Infantile spasm: a review article. Iran J Child Neurol. 2014;8(3):1-5.