How do cryptogenic and symptomatic infantile spasms differ? Review of biochemical studies in Finnish patients.

Infants with cryptogenic infantile spasms seem to differ from those with symptomatic spasms in having a higher cerebrospinal fluid corticotropin content, different levels of corticotropin release after exogenous vasopressin, higher serum levels of progesterone, higher dehydroepiandrosterone: androstenedione ratio (during corticotropin therapy), a higher cerebrospinal fluid gamma-aminobutyric acid content, and higher cerebrospinal fluid nerve growth factor concentrations. It remains to be seen whether the biochemical differences between the two groups are specific or only happen to correlate with the early brain damage. However, these differences would explain many pathophysiologic features of infantile spasms.