Cerebral palsy

Question 1

What is cerebral palsy?

Answer 1

Heterogenous group of disorders affecting the muscle tone and the development of movement and posture resulting from non-progressive brain damage

Question 2

What are the causes of cerebral palsy?

Answer 2

Idiopathic (most common)
Preterm birth and low birth weight
TORCH infection Toxoplasmosis, Other (varicella-zoster, parvovirus B19), Rubella, Cytomegalovirus infection (CMV), Herpes infections, HIV infection, and Syphilis.

Question 3

What are the types of cerebral palsy?

Answer 3

(Spastic) spastic paresis of one or more limbs (75% of cases)
(Non-spastic) Either Dyskinetic: abnormal involuntary movements or Ataxic: intention tremor, lack of balance and coordination

Question 4

What are the clinical features of cerebral palsy?

Answer 4

(General) do not reach certain milestones 
Intellectual disability
Seizure disorder (35%–50%)
Joint contractures
ADHD

(Spastic) ↑ Muscle tone in one or more limbs 
↑ deep tendon reflex 
Toe walking
Muscle weakness and/or atrophy
Scissor gait

(Non-spastic) Abnormal involuntary movements that worsen with stress and disappear with sleep
Chorea
Dysarthria
Dysphagia

Question 5

How is cerebral palsy diagnosed?

Answer 5

(Mainly clinical)
(Crainial US)
(MRI)

Question 6

What is the treatment for cerebral palsy?

Answer 6

Multidisciplinary appraoch

(Antispasmodics) e.g., botulinum toxin, baclofen, dantrolene, benzodiazepines