Develop. Med. Child Neurol. 1979, 21, 123-124

Fourth International Symposium on Child Neurology

Reported by Ivan Lesny

THE Fourth International Symposium on Child Neurology was held in Prague from 3rd to 5th July 1978. The topic for the first two days was childhood epilepsy and its development during the first six years of life.

On the classification of epilepsy, Low (USA) presented a new classification for the newborn, grouping cases into multifocal, tonic-decorticate and symmetrical synchronous categories. Several papers were devoted to infantile spasms: these were by Muller and Schaffer (East Germany), Veres and Halhsz (Hungary) and Wilmowska et al. (Poland), who discussed their relationship with akinetic epilepsy. Holub (Czechoslovakia) presented a follow-up study of 148 children with infantile spasms. The experimental work of SedlBZek (Czechoslovakia) on chick embryos demonstrated the spinal regulation of early convulsive activity and the later development of supraspinal control. Lichy (Czecho- slovakia) presented the family trees of patients with epilepsy. A study on postencephalitic epilepsy came from DoutlIk and Vacek (Czechoslovakia), and two studies of post- traumatic epilepsy were presented by Kleinpeter and Suchodoletz (East Germany) and Ritz et al. (West Germany).

Lechner et al. (Austria) discussed the significance of computerised tomography in the diagnosis of epilepsy, based in a study of 205 children. Another investigational study came from Rossler (Czechoslovakia), who presented the changes over time in the EEG patterns of 54 children, demonstrating the prognostic value of repeated recordings.

Other follow-up studies were presented: Cupii: and Durrigl (Yugoslavia) gave data from long-term study of 112 children, as did Dittrich et al. (Czechoslovakia). VranjeSeviC and Ispanovii: (Yugoslavia) discussed their findings in 16 children with ‘gelastic’ epilepsy who did well on treatment. Daute ef al. (East Germany) obtained good results with immunosuppressive drugs in the treatment of akinetic epilepsy, having found high levels of immunoglobulins in some cases. Low levels of IgA were found by Ariizumi et al. (Japan), particularly in children with the Lennox syndrome, suggesting that some childhood epilepsies may be linked with immunological disorders.

Lennox syndrome and its treatment were further discussed by Perlwitz and Rabending (East Germany). MBttyus and Halhsz (Hungary) and Todt (East Germany) presented papers on petit ma1 epilepsy and pyknolepsy. Benko et al. (Czechoslovakia) discussed the effects of sleep deprivation on EEG recordings of epileptic children with previously normal EEGS. A paper on the development of epileptic foci, illustrated with animal experiments, was given by Dolansky and Mares (Czechoslovakia). Stylianides (UK) discussed differ-

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DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE AND CHILD NEUROLOGY. 1979, 21

ences in the patterns of epilepsy in the severely mentally handicapped, and KriL et al. (Yugoslavia) reported on the ontogenetic characteristics of epilepsy in late childhood. The treatment of breath-holding attacks was the subject of a paper by Lehovsky et al. (Czechoslovakia), who had obtained good results using parasympathetic-mimetic drugs.

The final day of the meeting was devoted to the development of neurological signs and syndromes in early childhood. Neuhauser (West Germany) presented his ‘developmental syndromes’-hypotonic, spastic and ataxic syndromes. A classification of motor neuron syndromes in infancy was presented by Vlach (Czechoslovakia), and two papers by Brant and Neuhauser (West Germany) were devoted to the patterns of early motor develop- ment.

Lesnf et al. (Czechoslovakia) presented their follow-up observations on premature babies with Rossolimo and Mendel-Bechterew flexion pyramidal signs, which they consider normal in healthy newborns up to the age of four weeks, but which are evidence of upper motor neuron lesion in older children.

A syndrome of infantile tremor resulting from vitamin B6 and B12 deficiency was reported by Udani and Dastur (India).

Cases of natal spinal injury were described by Ratner (Soviet Union), and Jampolskaja (Soviet Union) discussed the sequelae of various types of brain damage.

A thorough study of hyperkinetic children was presented by ISpanovik et al. (Yugo- slavia). Katona et al. (Hungary) and Hare (UK) devoted papers to the early diagnosis of brain-damaged children. A detailed study of minimal cerebral dysfunction was given by Pechstein and Vogt (West Germany), and Krauze et al. (Poland) contributed a paper on disturbed co-ordination in ‘at risk’ children. Another paper from Poland, by SzeloZynska and Majewska, discussed the clinical differences in hemiplegias of early and late onset. Mukdi (Japan) devised an index for developmental evaluation of occipital alpha and delta waves in infants and school-children.

The meeting was closed by Hansen (Denmark), who drew attention to the latest contributions from the fields of immunology and genetics which have increased our knowledge of child neurology.

At the same time as the symposium, a satellite meeting of the Research Group for Paediatric Neurology of the World Federation of Neurology took place in Prague. The topics for discussion were Perspectives of Child Neurology and Education of the Child Neurologist.

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