Aicardi syndrome is a very rare disorder that was first identified by Dr Jean Aicardi, a
French neurologist in
1965. The characteristic features of the disorder are infantile
spasms, absence of the
corpus callosum, either partial or complete, mental retardation, and lesions or
lacunae of the
retina or
optic nerve. There are thought to be less than 500 sufferers of Aicardi syndrome in the world.
Aicardi is not thought to be hereditary. Instead it is thought to be caused by a mutation of the X chromosome. To diagnose Aicardi, which usually occurs in the third to fifth months of a child's life the following are looked for:
There is no cure for the syndrome, but symptoms can be managed with drugs.