Neuropathology of the brainstem in age-dependent epileptic encephalopathy--especially of cases with infantile spasms.

Twenty-two autopsy cases with developmental disabilities with history of infantile spasms were studied with special regard to brainstem lesions. Eleven out of 22 cases were considered to be of prenatal origin, ten cases were perinatal and one case had suffered from acute encephalopathy at six months of age. Some common pathological findings were noticed throughout the cases despite their various etiologies; small size of the brainstem tegmentum, spongy state in and around the central tegmental tract, localized periaqueductal glial scar. Control study on another autopsy series of 76 cases with developmental disabilities showed a close connection between these findings in the brainstem tegmentum and history of infantile spasms.