The term cerebral palsy is used to describe a group of conditions that arise during the first few years of a child’s life. These conditions are usually the result of impaired development of, or damage to, the part of the brain that controls movement and posture. This developmental failure or damage results in spastic limb muscles and difficulty crawling, walking and grasping objects. Mental retardation and other symptoms may also be present. Cerebral palsy has no cure at present, and not all the factors that contribute to it are fully understood. However, research has helped explain some of the causes.
If cerebral palsy is present from birth, it is called congenital cerebral palsy. While the cause of congenital cerebral palsy is unknown in most cases, several factors are thought to contribute. Infections during pregnancy, such as rubella (German measles), toxoplasmosis and cytomegalovirus can cause damage to the fetal brain that may result in cerebral palsy. If the blood groups of the mother and fetus are not compatible, the mother’s body may produce antibodies that destroy blood cells in the fetus, leading to jaundice. Compounds that are produced during jaundice can cause fetal and infant brain damage. If either the mother or the fetus has a blood clotting disorder, this may lead to bleeding into the fetal brain, and subsequent brain cell damage and cerebral palsy.
During labor and delivery, a severe shortage of oxygen supply to the infant’s brain, or asphyxia, can result in brain cell damage. Such damage may lead to cerebral palsy, accompanied in some cases by seizures and mental retardation. Asphyxia only accounts for about six percent of all cerebral palsy cases; most infants with oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery develop normally.
If cerebral palsy develops after birth, it is called acquired cerebral palsy. Common causes of acquired cerebral palsy in infants are brain infections and head trauma.
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Cerebral Palsy Lawyers
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Over 500,000 people in the United States suffer from some form of cerebral palsy. There are a number of maternal and fetal conditions that increase the risk of a child being born with the disease. However, when cerebral palsy occurs during or after birth, medical...
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Cerebral Palsy
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Annually, thousands of newborns around the world suffer from a sad and crippling disorder known as Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy was discovered and named only about a century ago. Cerebral Palsy is a term used to describe several conditions resulting from brain damage or injury...
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Ataxic Cerebral Palsy Lawyer
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Ataxic cerebral palsy accounts for five to ten percent of all cases of cerebral palsy. In this form of cerebral palsy, there is damage to a part of the brain called the cerebellum that helps maintain balance and coordination. When the cerebellum is damaged, it...
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Types of Cerebral Palsy
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Cerebral palsy can be classified into four types: spastic, athetoid, ataxic and mixed. Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common form, accounting for between 70 and 80 percent of all cerebral palsy cases. Limb muscles are stiff and remain permanently contracted. This form of cerebral...
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Athetoid Cerebral Palsy Lawyer
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Athetoid cerebral palsy is one of three types of cerebral palsy, and affects between ten and twenty percent of patients. This form of cerebral palsy is caused by damage to parts of the brain called the cerebellum or basal ganglia. These parts of the brain...
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Athetoid Cerebral Palsy
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From the several thousand cases of Cerebral Palsy reported around the world each year, about 10% of them are cases of Athetoid Cerebral Palsy. This disorder is exactly the opposite of spastic Cerebral Palsy wherein the muscles are too rigid. In Athetoid Cerebral Palsy, the...
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Cerebral Palsy Therapy
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While cerebral palsy is incurable, many of the symptoms can be treated. However, because multiple parts of the body may be affected, treatment is usually complicated and involves a multi-disciplinary approach. The exact treatment that a cerebral palsy patient undergoes also depends on the type...
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Spastic Cerebral Palsy
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Cerebral Palsy is a crippling brain disorder that affects thousands of newborns children around the world each year. With no definite permanent cure known as of yet, the ones affected by the disorder tend to suffer for their entire life. There are several types of...
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Cerebral Palsy Physical Therapy
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Cerebral Palsy is one of the most widespread brain-related disorders found in newborn or young children around the world. Cerebral Palsy is a permanent disorder that occurs when the brain undergoes damage either during pregnancy or soon after birth. As a result of this, the...
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Signs of Cerebral Palsy
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Depending on a child’s age, there are different signs that may suggest the presence of cerebral palsy. A newborn infant with difficulty in suckling, evacuating the bowels, or breathing should be carefully evaluated, as these are all warning signs of cerebral palsy. Infants may also...