Lethal neonatal spasticity-epileptic encephalopathy syndrome

A rare genetic neurological disorder characterized by neonatal onset of rigidity and intractable seizures, with episodic jerking already beginning <i>in utero</i>. Affected infants have small heads, remain visually inattentive, do not feed independently, and make no developmental progress. Frequent spontaneous apnea and bradycardia usually culminate in cardiopulmonary arrest and death in infancy, although some cases were described with a milder clinical course and survival into childhood.