Cerebral Palsy Flashcards
What is the muscle function?
Impaired voluntary muscle function
Time it occurs?
Before or at birth
w/in the 1st year of life
Incidence of cp?
3.3/1000
10,000 infants born in the US/year will develop CP
1200-1500 preschoolers dx/yr
males>females (1.4:1)
Prevalence of CP?
764000 kids and adults w/ 1 or more symptom
What are some prenatal causes of CP?
- Viral infections e.g. meningitis
- Radiation exposure
- Teratogen exposure e.g. toxins-lead, poison
- Congenital brain malformations
- Genetic-typically not the cause
- Twins-12x more likely one twin will have CP
- Placental/Fetal problems
What are some perinatal causes of CP?
- Pre-eclampsia
- HELLP Syndrome (Hemolyticanemia Elevated Liver Enzymes Low Platelet count)
- Asphyxia in Anoxia (Unable to breathe)
- Intraventricular hemorrhage (Childhood stroke)
- Respiratory Disorders
- Sephsis (serious infection or CNS (central nervous system) infection
What are some postnatal causes of CP
- Traumatic head injury (a lot of the time caused by falls)
- Viral or bacterial meningitis
- Anoxia (most common cause of anoxia is drowning-usually while bathing)
- Toxins
- Shunt hydrocephalous (usually with enlarged head and no drainage-shunt malfunctions)
- Childhood CVA (stroke)
What are some problems associated with prematurity that can lead to CP?
- Sephis
- CNS infection
- Anoxia
- Asphyxia
- Hemorrhage
- Babies born at 32 weeks or earlier have a much higher chance of developing CP.
What is the leading cause of CP?
A combination of prematurity and low birth weight
What are the 3 primary classification of CP?
- Pyramidal
- Extrapyramidal
- Mixed type
What % of cases are pyramidal?
75%
What part of the brain is damaged in Pyramidal CP?
Motor cortex (pyramidal tract)
What is pyramidal CP also known as?
Spastic CP
What is Athetoid CP characterized by?
- Occurs in the basal ganglia
- Has fluctuating tone b/t above to below normal
- Has writhing movements
- Choreoatheoid: extreme writhing movements
What are characteristics of spastic cp?
- Damage occurs to the motor cortex (pyramidal trct)
- Hypertonus- high tone/too much tone
- Hyperreflexia
What are characteristics of mixed type CP?
- Spasticity w/ a movt disorder
- Severe brain damage (b/c it affects different parts of the brain
- Consists of both pyramidal and extrapyramidal CP
- Spasticity usually in the limbs
What does Hemiplegic CP consist of?
- Occurs in 1 side of the body
- Occurs in the upper and lower extremity on 1 side
- The upper extremity is usually more involved than the lower
- Typically cog. function is high
What does diplegic CP consist of?
- Upper and lower extremities are both involved
- Lower extremities are more involved than the upper
- Abnormal gait problem (tight legs and inverted feet)
What does Quadriplegic/Tetraplegic CP consist of?
- Total body involvement (both sides of the brain are affected)
- Most severe brain damage
- often intellectual disability
What does paraplegic consist of?
- Lower extremities
- Often occurs more w/ spinal cord injury than CP
What is bilateral hemiplegic characterized by?
- All limbs are involved
- upper limbs are more involved
What is triplegic characterized by?
- 3 limbs are involved
- 1 limb is unaffected
What are the 3 degrees that CP is characterized by?
- Severe
- Moderate
- Mild
What 3 things is CP described by?
- Degree
- Tone
- Distribution
e. g. Severe spastic quadriplegia
