Cerebral Palsy Flashcards
Cerebral Palsy
An umbrella term describing a physical condition that affect movement and posture caused by damage to the developing brain.
Causes of prenatal cerebral palsy
Radiation, infection, hypoxia
Causes of postnatal cerebral palsy
Head trauma, infection
Three types of cerebral palsy
Spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic
Spastic cerebral palsy
Result of damage to the cerebral cortex which controls movement, speech and memory, and the motor cortex, which is important for planning, control and voluntary movement
Dyskinetic cerebral palsy
Damage to the basal ganglia, which initiates and prevents movements
Pathophysiology of dyskinetic cerebral palsy
Divided into two types, dystonia and athetosis
Dystonia
Usual twisting postures, repetitive movements due to fluctuating muscle tone
Athetosis
Slow, continuous writhing movements
Ataxic cerebral palsy
Damage to the cerebellum, which controls coordination and precise movements
General problems with cerebral palsy
Pain, tight muscles, stiff joints, abnormal posture, visual differences, hearing loss, learning difficulties, epilepsy
Treatment of cerebral palsy
Management of movement, general management, drug management and specialist education programmes
Management of movement
Physiotherapy, OT and SALT
General management
Gastrostomy and rhizotomy
Normal number of blood cells in the CSF
Zero
Drug management
Botulinum toxin and intrathecal baclofen
Botulinum toxin
A muscle relaxant that prevents the release of the neurotransmitter from axon endings and the neuromuscular junction
Specialist education programmes
Deep brain stimulation
Deep brain stimulation
Surgery to implant a device that sends electrical signals to brain areas responsible for body movement
Why does cerebral palsy cause tight muscles?
The ability to receive an inhibitory neuron is impaired; nerve impulses cannot be inhibited and nerves are overexcited. Increased muscle tone.
Why does cerebral palsy cause hearing loss?
Damage to nerve receptors in the inner ear blocks the transmission of sound to the brain
Why does cerebral palsy affect speech?
Can affect a persons ability to finely coordinate the muscles around the mouth and tongue. Coordinated breathing that is needed to support speech can be affected
Why does cerebral palsy affect food and drink?
Can affect a persons ability to finely coordinate the muscles around the mouth and tongue, and often impacts fine motor movement so people are unable to easily use cutlery
Rhizotomy
A procedure to sever nerve roots in the spinal cord and intradural space which can help to relieve muscle spasms
Gastrostomy
Creation of an artificial opening into the stomach for nutritional support which a feeding device is then inserted into
Pathophysiology of SCP
The MC uses upper motor neurons to communicate messages to the muscles. Upper MN come together with other neurons to form high waves that the MC uses to control the muscles
Basal Ganglia
A collection of individual nuclei, or a cluster of cell bodies that use high waves of neurons to send messages to help control muscle movement
Pathophysiology of ACP
The cerebellum receives information from the brain and spinal cord and uses it to regulate motor movements. The damage causes poor coordination and balance
