Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Imelda
by imelda0, Feb 24, 2008 10:29AM
My 2 year old son had ACTH treatment for Infantile Spasms (west syndrome). After the ACTH treatment an MRI showed that he had mild atrophy of the brain. He subsequently (few months later) went on to develop a viral pneumonia. While in hospital as he struggled to recover from the pneumonia another MRI showed that he had severe generalised cerebral cortical atrophy and subsequently died.
Could the generalised cerebral atrophy be caused by the viral pneumonia or could it perhaps have been a progressive cerebral atrophy (progressing after the ACTH treatment/ Infantile Spasms)?
Could the generalised cerebral atrophy be caused by the viral pneumonia or could it perhaps have been a progressive cerebral atrophy (progressing after the ACTH treatment/ Infantile Spasms)?
Post Comment
Related Communities
Related Expert Forums
Recent Activity
Most Popular Trackers
RSS
Expert Activity
Community Members
I feel sorry for the child. As I was reading the post, I was shocked to read that he died.
It is true that ACTH treatment can worsen the cortical atrophy. In a study of 26 children with Infantile spasms, three showed progressive cortical atrophy with ACTH treatment.
In another study, they have described a particular type of syndrome, which is a cause of West syndrome, to be associated with progressive cortical atrophy.
But I was wondering if the cause of death was pneumonia or something else.
I guess, you can consider the combination of West syndrome, ACTH and pneumonia as the culprits.
Regards