Infantile spasms (West syndrome): update and resources for pediatricians and providers to share with parents

Background Infantile spasms (IS; West syndrome) is a severe form of encephalopathy that typically affects infants younger than 2 years old. Pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, and other pediatric health care providers are all potentially key early contacts for families who have an infant with IS. The objective of this article is to assist pediatric health care providers in the detection of the disease and in the counseling and guidance of families who have an infant with IS. Methods Treatment guidelines, consensus reports, and original research studies are reviewed to provide an update regarding the diagnosis and treatment of infants with IS. Web sites were searched for educational and supportive resource content relevant to providers and families of patients with IS. Results Early detection of IS and pediatrician referral to a pediatric neurologist for further evaluation and initiation of treatment may improve prognosis. Family education and the establishment of a multidisciplinary continuum of care are important components of care for the majority of patients with IS. The focus of the continuum of care varies across diagnosis, initiation of treatment, and short- and long-term needs. Several on-line educational and supportive resources for families and caregivers of patients with IS were identified. Conclusions Given the possibility of poor developmental outcomes in IS, including the emergence of other seizure disorders and cognitive and developmental problems, early recognition, referral, and treatment of IS are important for optimal patient outcomes. Dissemination of and access to educational and supportive resources for families and caregivers across the lifespan of the child with IS is an urgent need. Pediatric health care providers are well positioned to address these needs

Pulse-position modulation of laser light using the Kerr electro- optical effect

This item was digitized from a paper original and/or a microfilm copy. If you need higher-resolution images for any content in this item, please contact us at [email protected]

Infantile spasms (West syndrome): update and resources for pediatricians and providers to share with parents

Abstract Background Infantile spasms (IS; West syndrome) is a severe form of encephalopathy that typically affects infants younger than 2 years old. Pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, and other pediatric health care providers are all potentially key early contacts for families who have an infant with IS. The objective of this article is to assist pediatric health care providers in the detection of the disease and in the counseling and guidance of families who have an infant with IS. Methods Treatment guidelines, consensus reports, and original research studies are reviewed to provide an update regarding the diagnosis and treatment of infants with IS. Web sites were searched for educational and supportive resource content relevant to providers and families of patients with IS. Results Early detection of IS and pediatrician referral to a pediatric neurologist for further evaluation and initiation of treatment may improve prognosis. Family education and the establishment of a multidisciplinary continuum of care are important components of care for the majority of patients with IS. The focus of the continuum of care varies across diagnosis, initiation of treatment, and short- and long-term needs. Several on-line educational and supportive resources for families and caregivers of patients with IS were identified. Conclusions Given the possibility of poor developmental outcomes in IS, including the emergence of other seizure disorders and cognitive and developmental problems, early recognition, referral, and treatment of IS are important for optimal patient outcomes. Dissemination of and access to educational and supportive resources for families and caregivers across the lifespan of the child with IS is an urgent need. Pediatric health care providers are well positioned to address these needs.</p

Next Generation Space Telescope: NIR InSb Array Development

ABSTRACT The astronomical community has benefited from the scientific advances in photo-detection over the last few decades, from optical CCDs to infrared array detectors, for both large ground-based telescopes and space-borne telescopes. NGST, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, will draw on the improvements in infrared array technologies to achieve its goals and mission. The University of Rochester, in collaboration with Raytheon and NASA Ames Research Center, is developing and testing near infrared InSb array detectors to meet the stringent requirements for NGST. The latest development involves a suitable multiplexer in a 2048×2048 format that will be bump-bonded to an InSb array. Twenty of these arrays will be required for NGST imaging and spectroscopy. We present results for pathfinder 1024 × 1024 arrays. This is a companion work to the paper in these SPIE proceedings b