AN UNUSUAL CAUSE OF NEONATAL SEIZURES IN A NEWBORN-INFANT

Neonatal seizures in the neonatal period are symptoms of numerous unde rlying disorders of the neonate. We present a case in which neonatal s eizures due to cerebral infarction led to a diagnosis in the mother. N eonatal convulsions caused by cerebral artery thrombosis is relatively rare in the neonatal period and is often secondary to indwelling intr avascular catheters that cause thromboembolism, but may be associated with many conditions.(1) Cerebral artery thrombosis in newborns, in wh ich antiphospholipid antibodies (APA) were found in the mother, has be en described in three case reports.(2,3) Two of these premature infant s were born with other risk factors for thrombosis. APA could not be i dentified in any of these three infants. In the two cases reported by Silver et al(3) the diagnosis was made several months after birth. Thi s case is unique in the fact that no other risk factors for thrombosis could be identified to explain the infarction, and that APA were foun d in the offspring of an apparently healthy mother. Whether the prior fetal death was caused by APA remains unclear. The finding of lupus an ticoagulant in her child led to the diagnosis of antiphospholipid anti body syndrome in her. We believe that in case of cerebral artery throm bosis in a neonate, with no trivial cause such as an indwelling cathet er or sepsis, both mother and infant should be tested for presence of APA, even when the mother seems healthy.