What Are The Causes, Symptoms And Treatment Of Cerebral Palsy?

What is cerebral palsy?

In people with cerebral palsy are the brain around their birth (or for their first anniversary) become corrupted. The brain can no longer pass to the muscles what to do. As a result, people with cerebral palsy have problems moving.

Apart from moving, people with cerebral palsy often also problems with hear, see and speak.
One of the four people with cerebral palsy has epilepsy. And slightly more than half (60%) has more trouble to understand things. Of which 60% have some intellectual disabilities.

Cerebral palsy can not be cured. But there are treatments that make the movement problems less severe, such as physical therapy and medication.
Advice on treatments for cerebral palsy you can get at the rehabilitation centre and at a special treatment team at the hospital. In teaching hospitals are special teams for children with cerebral palsy. Sometimes such a team is called a CP team, but it can also have a different name.

Cerebral palsy is also known as cerebral movement disorder, cerebral palsy (CP) or infantile encephalopathy (IE). Also the name spasticity is often used, but spasticity is not the same as cerebral palsy. Spasticity is a phenomenon that is common in cerebral palsy.

What causes cerebral palsy?

It's not always clear what causes cerebral palsy. Researchers think these things play a role:

1. lack of oxygen at birth;
2. a premature birth;
3. low birth weight;
4. infections in the mother during pregnancy;
5. an accident or a brain disease after birth.

In some families have several people brain damage. It may be that heredity plays a role in cerebral palsy, but in any case it plays a major role. People with cerebral palsy can have healthy children and healthy people can have a child with cerebral palsy.

Signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy

One person with cerebral palsy have very different problems than the others. That depends on where the brains are damaged. It is true that all people have problems with cerebral palsy moving. These problems include:

1. spasticity (muscle tightness). Eight out of ten people with cerebral palsy are spastic.
2. strange and unexpected movements, which the person can not control. This is called chorea-athetosis. About two out of ten people suffer from it.
3. struggling to make purposeful movements. This is called ataxia. This has about one of the twenty people.

Furthermore, people can suffer from:

1. deformities in the joints;
2. difficulty speaking;
3. drooling, trouble swallowing;
4. can not hear or see well;
5. can not feel good with the hands;
6. learning problems.

One of the four people with cerebral palsy also have epilepsy.

Growing up with cerebral palsy

Adults with cerebral palsy are often more tired than other people. Also, they are more likely to get other diseases later in life only.

Other problems that you as an adult might get:

1. deformities in joints and thereby arthritis;
2. often involuntary movements;
3. more pain, more pain in joints;
4. trouble walking;
5. increasing difficulty with daily activities;
6. problems with sex. Valium may help counter muscle tension;
7. incontinence;
8. depression;
9. less stamina;
10. problems with your balance;
11. heavier;
12. severe learning disabilities.

Cerebral palsy diagnosis

Sometimes discovers a doctor immediately after birth that a child has cerebral palsy. But this is usually done only if a child between 15 and 24 months.

What happens when an investigation is cerebral palsy? The doctor first set a few questions: how was your pregnancy? Is there something special happening at birth? How did it go with the child immediately after birth? How has your child developed in the first months after birth?

Usually monitor these investigations:

1. a physical examination, the doctor looks at how to move the child;
2. a CT scan or MRI scan of the brains.

Sometimes the doctor also does one of these tests:

1. blood tests;
2. electrical survey of the muscles (electromyogram (EMG));
3. a muscle biopsy. The doctor takes a piece of muscle away to investigate.

If needed, the doctor also tests if the child hears and sees well.

What is the treatment for cerebral palsy ?

The brain damage associated with cerebral palsy is nothing to do. Damaged brain cells can not heal.

There are treatments that make the movement problems very less. The most important are:

1. physiotherapy;
2. occupational therapy;
3. speech therapy;
4. medications (anti-spasticity);
5. orthopedic surgery (such as a splint, braces or orthopedic shoes).

Advice on treatment of cerebral palsy can be obtained from the rehabilitation center and a special medical team at the hospital. In teaching hospitals are special teams for children with cerebral palsy. Usually such a team called IE team, but it can also have a different name.

Surgery may help if the joints are going to be stuck in one position (a contracture).