Diagnosis for Dravet Syndrome
Your child’s doctor will inquire about your family’s medical and prescription drug history. Diagnosis is sometimes delayed until you get results from the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalogram (EEG). [5] Diagnosis might occasionally be delayed.
Your child’s doctor will perform a clinical examination to check for Dravet syndrome signs and symptoms. You may be asked for details regarding your child, such as:
- Before the seizures began, did your child’s mental and physical/muscular development progress normally or almost normally?
- Before your child becoming a year old, did he or she experience two or more seizures, fever included or not?
- Did more than two seizures last for five minutes?
Additionally, they’ll ask you to describe the kinds of seizures your child has experienced, the number of any medications that have been prescribed, and how well those medications have managed your child’s seizures (if medication was prescribed).
However, the doctor will make the diagnosis based on your child’s symptoms. They might also recommend a blood test to look for the SCN1A gene mutation.
Treatment Options for Dravet Syndrome?
The aim of treatment is to reduce the frequency and intensify seizures. No two children respond to treatment in the same manner because seizures vary in type and duration.
Medications
The following medicines have been authorized specifically to treat Dravet syndrome-related seizures:
- Stiripentol (Diacomit®)
- Epidiolex (Cannabidiol)
- Fenfluramine HCl (brand-named Fintel®)
Children two years of age or older may use any of the three drugs.