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Objective: To evaluate whether serum matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) levels predict response to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) therapy in patients with infantile spasms., Methods: We prospectively evaluated patients with infantile spasms who were referred to Saitama Children's Medical Center from January 2011 to December 2020. We measured Q-albumin and serum MMP-9 and TIMP-1 levels before ACTH therapy. Patients were divided into three groups based on the etiology of their infantile spasms: those with an unknown etiology and normal development (unknown-normal group); those with a structural and acquired etiology (structural-acquired group); and those with a structural and congenital, genetic, metabolic, or unknown etiology with developmental delay (combined-congenital group). Responders were defined as those having complete cessation of spasms for more than 3 months with the resolution of hypsarrhythmia on electroencephalography during ACTH therapy., Results: We collected serum from 36 patients with West syndrome and five patients with infantile spasms without hypsarrhythmia before ACTH therapy. Twenty-three of 41 patients (56.1%) were responders, including 8/8 (100%) in the unknown-normal group, 6/9 (66.7%) in the structural-acquired group, and 9/24 (37.5%) in the combined-congenital group. The serum MMP-9 level and MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio were significantly higher in responders than in nonresponders (P = 0.001 for both)., Conclusion: A therapeutic response to ACTH was associated with a higher serum MMP-9 level and higher MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio in patients with infantile spasms. Therefore, these biomarkers may predict responses to ACTH therapy in this patient population., (Copyright © 2021 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: We aimed to study the efficacy of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) treatment on infantile spasms with different aetiologies. In particular, we were interested in patients with structural-acquired aetiology., Methods: Patients with infantile spasms, who were treated with ACTH, were divided into three groups based on the aetiologies: unknown aetiology with normal development (unknown-normal), structural-acquired, and combined-congenital aetiologies that included genetic, metabolic, structural-congenital, or unknown aetiology with developmental delay., Results: Of the 107 patients included (58 males, 49 females), 25 patients had unknown-normal aetiology [median age at onset 5 months, standard deviation (SD) 3.12, range 2-16 months]; 20 patients had structural-acquired aetiology (median age at onset 6.5 months, SD 3.85 months, range 4-17 months); and 62 patients had combined-congenital aetiologies (median age at onset 5 months, SD 2.73 months, range 2-16 months). The efficacy of ACTH was 64.0 %, 65 %, and 30.6 % in the unknown-normal aetiology, structural-acquired aetiology, and combined-congenital aetiologies, respectively (p < 0.01). Multivariate analysis showed a statistically significant higher efficacy in the unknown-normal aetiology [Odds ratio (OR) 4.63, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.60-13.30] and structural-acquired aetiology (OR 3.41, 95 % CI 1.01-11.50) compared to that in the combined-congenital aetiologies., Conclusion: Infantile spasms with structural-acquired aetiology had greater response to ACTH treatment than those with combined-congenital aetiologies. The efficacy of standard therapy of infantile spasms should be considered based on aetiology., (Copyright © 2020 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to investigate the general presentation of epileptic spasms without hypsarrhythmia (ESwoH) and retrospectively determine whether there are differences in treatment effects related to ACTH therapy, long-term seizure outcome, and evolution of EEG features according to pre-treatment EEG patterns. According to the pattern of background activity, we divided our cohort into two groups: Group 1: normal background activity or with localized intermittent slow waves; Group 2: intermittent slow waves appearing generalized or in two or more lobes. Subjects included 22 children (Group 1: n=10; Group 2: n=12) diagnosed with ESwoH who received treatment from 2007 to 2017. The median age at onset of epileptic spasms was 5.5 months and the follow-up period lasted for 40.5 months. ACTH therapy was performed for seven patients from Group 1 and eight patients from Group 2. Only one patient from Group 2 responded to ACTH. Patients receiving effective treatments at early stages had excellent seizure outcome. Refractory cases included six patients in Group 1 and eight patients in Group 2; subsequent follow-up EEGs indicated hypsarrhythmia in one patient in Group 1 (17%) and six patients (75%) in Group 2, including one patient whose EEG pattern indicated progression to Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Overall, ACTH is ineffective for patients with epileptic spasms without hypsarrhythmia. The EEG may indicate possible future development of hypsarrhythmia if epileptic spasms are resistant to treatment, especially in patients with diffuse slow waves on pre-treatment EEG. The efficacy of treatment introduced at early stages from onset may predict long-term seizure outcome.