Cerebral Palsy Cause

Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term that covers several neurological conditions that are apparent at birth, or that appear in the early years of a child s life. Coordination of muscles and movements of the body are permanently affected, but following their detection do not become worse with time.

The brain controls the body s movement and parts of the brain are damaged and therefore not functioning normally, so that operation of the muscles cannot be normal. The most visible signs of cerebral palsy cause are in the child s inability to control his or her movements. The damaged brain is not able to transmit the correct signal and the result is spasticity, where reflexes are exaggerated and muscles are either floppy or stiff in movement. Coordination is lacking and it is in the gait that this is usually most apparent.

What is cerebral palsy and how is the brain damage acquired?

Much cerebral palsy is a pre- natal situation, when the foetal brain is developing. Genetic factors are causal here and factors that may compromise the blood supply to the developing brain. Later in the pregnancy, or during birth, a cerebral palsy cause could be lack of oxygen, or jaundice in a very severe form. Jaundice is common in newborns and normally causes no problem but the high levels of bilirubin present in some babies is a cerebral palsy cause as it can damage the brain.

A further cerebral palsy cause is premature birth, or babies who are of very low birthweight, say, of less than 1500 grams. These tiny babies have an increased risk of complications which could be a cerebral palsy cause . Not all such children develop cerebral palsy and full- term babies of normal birthweight can have the disease.

In the young child, a possible cerebral palsy for a small percentage of children is from accidents which have caused head injury. These are commonly vehicle accidents.
A further cause cerebral palsy might be an infection that affects the brain, such as meningitis or viral encephalitis.

Physical abuse of children can be a cause of cerebral palsy , where repeated blows to the head cause brain damage leading to the irreversible condition of cerebral palsy. There is no cure for cerebral palsy but there is helpful treatment. Not all children are profoundly affected and many, with appropriate medication and surgery can gain a measure of movement and skills to lead near- normal lives. Others will require life-long support and care.

Cerebral palsy cause is diverse but many therapies exist to alleviate the condition and should be started as soon as possible to help the child meet the challenges of his or her disability.