CT and ACTH treatment in infantile spasms.

Computed tomography of 8 cases with West's syndrome before, during and after ACTH treatment are reported. The scans, performed at the third week of therapy, showed consistent widening of the sulci, cisterns and ventricles in all the patients. Of these, 2 patients underwent ICP monitoring which showed higher than normal values. A return to the normal ICP values in association with the disappearance of the CT findings was observed in both cases. It is concluded that widening of the sulci, cisterns and ventricles are not findings of atrophy, but a condition of initial communicating hydrocephalus, which is in accordance with the hypotheses of Riikonen and Lyen.