About Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a general term describing a group of chronic non-pregressive neurological symptoms which cause impaired control of movement and which are evident in the first few years of life, usually before age 3. The disorders are induced by damage or faulty development of the motor areas in the brain, disrupting the patient's ability to control movement and posture. Symptoms of cerebral palsy include difficulty with fine motor tasks such as writing, poor balance and walking, and involuntary movements. The exact combination of symptoms differs from patient to patient and may vary over time. Intellectual disability and seizures may occure in some patients but the frequency is very small. Babies that suffer from this disorder are usually slower than average babies in developmental growth such as rolling over, sitting down, crawling, smiling or walking.Although cerebral palsy is mostly thought as being perinatal or congenital it can be acquired after birth. Many of the causes of cerebral palsy that have been identified through research are preventable or even treatable: head injury, Rh incompatibility, jaundice and rubella (German measles).
Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy
Doctors diagnose cerebral palsy by tests of motor skills and reflexes and by medical history.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computerized Tomography (CT) scans are usually ordered when the physician suspects cerebral palsy; howerer, they are not definitive. These tests can provide evidence of physical abnormalities such as hydrocephalus (an accumulation of fluid in the cerebral ventricles of the brain), and they can be utilized to exclude other brain disorders. These scans do not prove that the patient has cerebral palsy; nor do they tell a patients future behavior. Patients with normal scans may have severe symptoms, and while others whose scans are clearly abnormal have only modest physical signs. However, as a group, patients with cerebral palsy are statistically more likely to have brain scars, cysts, and other changes visible on scans. When physical examination suggests cerebral palsy, an abnormal scan helps confirms the clinical findings.
Even though specific symptoms can change as time passes, cerebral palsy by definition isn't progressive, so if a patient shows increasing impairment, the problem is most likely another neurological disorder.
Varieties of Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is classified by the type of movement problem (such as spastic or even athetoid cerebral palsy) or by he body parts affected (hemiplegia, diplegia, and quadriplegia). Spasticity refers to the inability of a muscle to relax, while athetosis refers to an inability to control its movement. Infants who are initially hypotonic ("floppy") may later develop spasticity. Hemiplegia is cerebral palsy that involves 1 arm and 1 leg on one side of the body, whereas diplegia is the involvement of both legs. Quadriplegia refers to symptoms involving all 4 extremities as well as trunk and neck muscles. Balance and coordination problems are referred to as ataxia.
For instance, a patient with spastic diplegia has mostly spastic muscle problems of the legs, while perhaps also displaying a smaller component of athetosis and balance problems. The patient with athetoid quadriplegia, on the more hand, would have lack of control of the muscles of both arms and legs, however such a patient will usually have smaller problems with ataxia and spasticity as well. Normally a child with quadriplegic cerebral palsy will be unable to walk independently. The degree of impairment can vary from patient to patient and range from mild to severe.
Cerebral Palsy Therapy
There is no standard therapy that benefits all patients. Medications are useful to control seizures and muscle cramps and braces can compensate for muscle imbalance. Surgery, mechanical aids to help overcome impairments, counseling for emotional and psychological needs, and physical, occupational, speech, and behavioral therapy are all effective.
Prognosis for Cerebral Palsy
Although cerebral palsy is still incurable many patients can enjoy near-normal lives if their neurological symptoms are properly taken care of.
Medical Research
There is evidence which suggests that cerebral palsy results from incorrect cell development early in prenatal life. As an example, a group of researchers has recently observed that approximately one-third of cerebral palsy patients also have missing enamel on certain teeth. Internal bleeding in the brain, breathing and circulation problems and seizures can all cause cerebral palsy and each has separate causes and treatment. Researchers are currently conducting trials to determine whether certain medications can help halt neonatal stroke, and more investigators are studing the causes of low birth-weight. More studies are being done to determine how brain trauma (like brain damage from a shortage of oxygen or blood flow, bleeding in the brain, and seizures) can cause the release of brain chemicals which lead to permanent brain damage.

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About Cerebral Palsy

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