rare and often unnoticed form of epilepsy known as infantile
spasms; and
WHEREAS, Nearly all children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome
develop learning problems and intellectual disabilities
associated with their frequent seizures; and
WHEREAS, Because the seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut
syndrome are often resistant to typical treatments, the
resulting intellectual impairments tend to worsen over time; and
WHEREAS, As children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome grow older,
uncontrolled seizures may become less problematic but impaired
intellectual functioning persists and may be accompanied by
acute psychotic episodes, slowed cognitive functioning and
progressive behavioral problems; and
WHEREAS, Complete recovery is extremely unusual for a child
with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and most affected individuals will
require lifetime assistance with some or all of the usual
activities of daily life; and
WHEREAS, Since there is no cure for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome,
the goals of treatment are to reduce the adverse side effects of
medication and to improve quality of life; and
WHEREAS, The three main treatment options for Lennox-Gastaut
syndrome are antiseizure medications, dietary therapy and
nonpharmacological methods; and
WHEREAS, Further research is needed to identify more
effective therapies; and
WHEREAS, Due to the heterogeneity of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome,
researchers often find Lennox-Gastaut syndrome difficult to
study, and there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done
to understand the syndrome; and
WHEREAS, November 1 is celebrated worldwide as "International
20180HR1183PN4321 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30