Lecture 2: Cerebral palsy and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Flashcards
What are some causes of cerebral palsy?
Hypoxia at birth or preterm birth
Genetics
Low socioeconomic status
Maternal infection
Perinatal stroke
What mechanism leads to the development of cerebral palsy?
- Hypoxia or infection occurs
- Causes pro-inflammatory microglia instead of homeostatic microglia
- This prevents oligodendrocyte precursor cell from becoming myelinating oligodendrocyte
- This leads to hypomyeliantion and cerebral palsy
What are the three different types of cerebral palsy?
Spastic CP
Dyskinetic CP
Ataxic CP
What is spastic cerebral palsy?
Damage to white matter in motor cortex
Hypertonia
Swallowing and vision problems
Diplegia
What is diplegia?
Legs affected
What is hemiplegia?
One side of body affected
What is Quadriplegia?
All four limbs affected
What is dyskinetic cerebral palsy?
Damage to basal ganglia
Athetosis
Chorea
Dystonia
What is ataxic cerebral palsy?
Damage to cerebellum
Problems in balance and coordination
What are some other problems associated with cerebral palsy?
50% have intellectual disability
Seizures
Bone and joint problems
Chronic pain
What are some treatments for cerebral palsy?
Physiotherapy
Speech and language therapy
Assistive technologies or mobility aids
Muscle relaxants
Surgery
Pain relief medication
Anticonvulsant medication
What causes Williams syndrome?
Deletion of 27 genes on chromosome 7
What are some characteristics of Williams syndrome?
Appearance
Abnormal frontal cortex and cerebellum (motor)
Abnormal parietal cortex (visual-spatial tasks)
Highly verbal
High fear response (amygdala)
What causes Angelman syndrome?
Imprinting occurs which silences UBE3A gene on paternal chromosome
This means they rely on maternal gene
If not present in maternal chromosome they will have Angelman syndrome
What are the characteristics of Angelman syndrome?
Appearance
Seizures
Ataxia
Learning difficulties
Uncontrollable laughter
