This profile is summarized in the table reproduced below that lists clinical features that involve six areas of psychosocial functioning and are organized by "overt" and "covert" manifestations. "Overt" and "covert" are intended to denote seemingly contradictory aspects that may both simultaneously be present in an individual. These designations do not necessarily imply their conscious or unconscious existence. The covert characteristics are by definition difficult to discern and not immediately apparent. Additionally, the lack of data on the frequency of many of the features makes their relative diagnostic weight difficult to distinguish at this time. However, Akhtar states that his profile has several advantages over the DSM in terms of maintaining historical continuity of the use of the word schizoid, valuing depth and complexity over descriptive oversimplification and helping provide a more meaningful differential diagnosis of SzPD from other personality disorders. Causes
Some evidence suggests the cluster A personality disorders have shared genetic and environmental risk factors, and there is an increased prevalence of SzPD in relatives of people with schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder. Twin studies with SzPD traits (e.g. low sociability and low warmth) suggest these are inherited. Besides this indirect evidence, the direct heritability estimates of SzPD range from 50 to 59%. To Sula Wolff, who did extensive research and clinical work with children and teenagers with schizoid symptoms, "schizoid personality has a constitutional, probably genetic, basis."
Once more, the cause of each individual case of West syndrome must be considered when debating cause and effect.As many as 6 out of 10 children with West syndrome have epilepsy later in life. Sometimes West syndrome turns into a focal or other generalised epilepsy. Around half of all children develop Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Epidemiology
Incidence is around 1:3200 to 1:3500 of live births. Statistically, boys are more likely to be affected than girls at a ratio of around 3:2. In 9 out of every 10 children affected, the spasms appear for the first time between the third and the twelfth month of age. In rarer cases, spasms may occur in the first two months or during the second to fourth year of age. History
West syndrome was named after the English doctor and surgeon William James West (1793–1848), who lived in Tonbridge. In 1841 he observed this type of epilepsy in his own son, James E West, who was approximately four months old at the time. He published his observations from a scientific perspective in an article in The Lancet. He named the seizures "Salaam Tics" at the time. See also
Epilepsy Phenome/Genome Project

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External links

Much of this article is translated from the German Wikipedia article