Baby Millie has 225 seizures a day due to rare condition

Mum Kate Stephen puts a protective arm around daughter Millie who suffers from a rare and cruel condition

By Lachlan Mackinnon

Eight-month-old Millie has West syndrome, which has caused her to have up to 225 seizures a day. She weeps silently during the epileptic attacks. West syndrome affects one in 3,000 babies and is incurable.

It means Millie may not live long enough to reach schoolage. She had her first seizure at 22 weeks and Kate, 33, recalled: “She went totally vacant and tears rolled down her little face. Her arms and legs tensed and wrapped around her body.

“She did this about six times but didn’t cry out loud. As my sister suffers from epilepsy, I knew she was having a seizure.”

After being diagnosed, Millie, from Pitmedden, in Aberdeenshire, went on medication which has kept the fits at bay for three months. She also has regular EEG tests to monitor her brain’s electrical activity. Dad Mark, 40, and Kate, both police officers, hope the seizures do not return when Millie is taken off the drugs this month.

What is West syndrome?
Leigh Slocombe from Epilepsy Research UK explains...

West syndrome, also known as infantile spasms, is a particular, age-related form of epilepsy. The typical pattern is the child bending forward suddenly with a stiff limbs. Over time, attacks build up into clusters of spasms at brief intervals.

About 70% of affected infants have a brain dysfunction that causes the syndrome, which is treated with steroids or anti-epileptic drugs. Most sufferers have learning difficulties and other kinds of seizures in later childhood.

Source: Daily Mirror