Nodding syndrome disease is a widespread neurological condition that affects children living in Africa sub-Saharan that could be classified as a possible symptomatic generalized epilepsy that has features of epileptic encephalopathy.
Patients develop gradually functional and physical limitations, which include different types of seizures as well as physical and cognitive decline, malnutrition, and mental health issues. To take such children out of this bad situation, the organizations like Acholi Resilience are taking initiative.
The clinical stages proposed are associated with the worsening of cerebellar and cortical atrophy brain imaging, and more powerful epileptiform as well as surroundings EEG changes. These stages can help guide rehabilitation and treatment.
Although the sample size was tiny and there is no comparative group, However, it is among the very few studies that have meticulously identified the clinical characteristics and problems of nodding syndrome with extensive information on electrophysiology and brain imaging described the normal course of the disease and are the first study to offer the stage system.
There are only a few descriptions of the nodding syndrome. Winkler and co-workers have provided the most comprehensive description of the condition to date, detailing symptoms for 62 Tanzanian patients and defining the patients as having nodding head only or head-nodding plus, if they also suffered from other seizure forms. The initial symptoms that allow early identification of the condition and its natural course, and risk factors that could be modified aren't well defined.
It is not possible to identify the cause for the disease and the current definition of a case is solely based on clinical criteria. The objective of this study was to define the electrophysiological, clinical, and brain imaging features and difficulties of nodding syndrome in Ugandan children and to propose a staging system.