West syndrome is a rare form of epilepsy which occurs early in an infant’s life and is often called infantile spasm. The spasms that occur may range from violent jack-knife or ‘salaam’ movements where the whole body bends in half, or they may be no more than a mild twitching of the nose or mouth. Unusual brain wave patterns (hypsarrhythmia) may be seen on electroencephalogram (EEG). Intellectual impairment may also occur. Head trauma, lack of oxygen at birth and prematurity are some of the causes of West syndrome. In some cases, a faulty gene on the short ‘p’ arm of the X chromosome at Xp22.1-11.4 may be a cause.
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