What Are the Characteristics of Cerebral Palsy in Children?

Cerebral palsy in children is a disease caused by pediatric brain parenchyma that develops into paralysis due to non-progressive and central motor dysfunction.

Child with cerebral palsy

Child

Cerebral palsy in children refers to a disease caused by a variety of reasons (such as infection, hemorrhage, trauma, etc.) in children with brain parenchyma, non-progressive, central motor dysfunction, and development of paralysis. Severe cases are accompanied by mental retardation,

Central cerebral palsy in children

Cerebral palsy is central damage, that is, paralysis caused by damage to the nervous system above the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord (or cranial nerve motor nucleus), and the lesion is in the brain. Paralysis due to damage to the spinal cord anterior horn cells and below is not classified as central damage and cannot be diagnosed as cerebral palsy. Paralysis caused by poliomyelitis, sciatic nerve injury, etc. does not belong to the category of cerebral palsy.

Childhood cerebral palsy developmental

Cerebral palsy is damage to brain tissue during growth and development. It refers to various reasons acting on immature brain tissues that are growing and developing, rather than acting on mature brain tissues. Therefore, certain intracranial disorders in adults, such as cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, etc., although they can also cause limb movement disorders, cannot be diagnosed as cerebral palsy, because it does not act on developing brain tissue, but is mature. Brain tissue does not meet the characteristics of development. The brain tissues of the fetus and newborns and infants from conception to infancy are developing brain tissues, and brain tissue damage caused by any cause during this period is consistent with the diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Brain damage before conception and after infancy cannot be called cerebral palsy, because problems before conception are mostly congenital genetic neurological disorders and should be distinguished from cerebral palsy. Brain damage caused by various causes after infancy should be named after a disease, such as the sequelae of encephalitis, and should not be diagnosed as cerebral palsy.

Non-progressive cerebral palsy in children

Cerebral palsy is non-progressive and is characterized by not progressing. This point can be distinguished from diseases such as encephalitis and brain tumors. However, it is also difficult to distinguish between demyelinating disease or congenital disease, which is not obvious or progresses slowly, and cerebral palsy. In addition, many children with cerebral palsy are often seen clinically. After diagnosis, there are no treatments or improper treatments for various reasons. The symptoms of these children become more and more obvious. This is because the child's abnormal posture and abnormal motor sensory conduction form a vicious cycle, which makes the symptoms continue to develop. Therefore, British scholar Bobath Botu believes that the clinical symptoms of cerebral palsy are progressive at least before puberty, and the clinical manifestations change with growth. But intracranial lesions in children with cerebral palsy are non-progressive.

Risk factors for cerebral palsy in children

There are many causes of cerebral palsy, but those who cannot find the cause may reach more than 1/3. Sometimes there may be multiple factors in some cases. Prenatal factors are the most common, including genetic and chromosomal diseases, congenital infections, brain development abnormalities or dysplasia, fetal cerebral ischemia and hypoxia caused by softening of white matter around the ventricle or damage of basal ganglia. Perinatal factors refer to brain damage that occurs within one week after the birth of a child, including cerebral edema, neonatal shock, intracerebral hemorrhage, sepsis or central nervous system infection, and ischemic hypoxic encephalopathy. Perinatal factors may be an important cause of cerebral palsy in preterm infants. The factors after the advanced neonatal period include various causes of non-progressive brain injury caused by central nervous system infection, cerebrovascular disease, head trauma, poisoning, etc. from 1 week to 3 or 4 years old. Expert tips: Although premature delivery and intrauterine growth retardation are not the direct cause of cerebral palsy, they are important high-risk factors for cerebral palsy. Intrauterine inflammation or chorioamnionitis in mothers has been paid more and more attention as a potential risk factor.

Other factors for children with cerebral palsy

Prenatal factors: such as congenital malformations, genetic defects, intrauterine infections, threatened abortion, maternal exposure to toxic substances, radiation damage, pregnancy-induced hypertension, etc.

Prenatal factors: such as dystocia, interruption of umbilical cord blood supply due to sagging and neck around the fetus during delivery, neonatal asphyxia, gigantic and low birth weight infants, immature premature infants, and birth injuries.

Postpartum factors: such as neonatal jaundice, neonatal intracranial hematoma, sepsis leading to shock, aspiration pneumonia, and atelectasis leading to cerebral hypoxia.