Cerebral Palsy
The Latest Health Extracts From The World Of Research Via The Web
Cerebral palsy is a serious birth injury that affects more than 5,000 children in the United States each year. Resulting from brain damage, the causes of cerebral palsy can include birth mistakes such as physician error or negligence. This type of birth injury compromises the body’s ability to control movement and posture and often results in seizures, intellectual impairment, behavioral problems, hearing deficits, and vision disorders. If your child acquired cerebral palsy as a result of a birth mistake, you may be entitled to a financial award. A cerebral palsy case evaluation with birth injury lawyers experienced in this area of litigation can provide you with the information you need to proceed with your case. 15
Cerebral palsy is a group of problems that affects body movement and posture. It is related to a brain injury or to problems with brain growth. It causes reflex movements that a person can’t control and muscle tightness that may affect parts or all of the body. These problems can range from mild to severe. Mental retardation, seizures, and vision and hearing problems can occur in people with cerebral palsy. 26
Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that hinder control of movement. It is caused by an injury to the brain during pregnancy, around the time of birth, or shortly after birth. This brain damage may be caused by several factors depending on the type, the onset, and the health history of mother and child. If the condition was caused by negligence, you should seek the assistance of a cerebral palsy attorney immediately. Learn more about the causes of cerebral palsy. 14
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella-like term used to describe a group of chronic disorders impairing control of movement that appear in the first few years of life and generally do not worsen over time. The disorders are caused by faulty development of or damage to motor areas in the brain that disrupts the brain’s ability to control movement and posture. 41
Congenital infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, the virus that causes AIDS) also causes brain damage in children, though it usually causes mental retardation rather than CP. It is likely that many other infections in the expectant mother injure the developing fetus, but they are not recognized as causative factors because the woman who has the infection either does not recognize the symptoms of infection or is symptom-free. Premature infants are at a much higher risk for developing cerebral palsy than full-term babies, and the risk increases as the birth weight decreases. Between 5 and 8 percent of infants weighing less than 1500 grams (3 pounds) at birth develop cerebral palsy, and infants weighing less than 1500 grams are 25 times more likely to develop cerebral palsy than infants who are born at full term weighing more than 2500 grams. 10
Ataxic cerebral palsy: This type of cerebral palsy is where the child has poor muscle tone, and movement is poorly co-coordinated. This can lead to unsteadiness and shakiness in the child, can affect balance and perception. This form of cerebral palsy is rare, and can result in very poor coordination, shakiness, tremors, and can also result in a wide-gaited walk. Around five to ten percent of cerebral palsy children suffer from this form of the disorder. 18
Cerebral palsy is caused by a problem in the brain that affects a child’s ability to control his or her muscles. Problems in different parts of the brain cause problems in different parts of the body. There are many possible causes of problems, such as genetic conditions, problems with the blood supply to the brain before birth, infections, bleeding in the brain, lack of oxygen, severe jaundice, and head injury. 4
Cerebral refers to the affected area of the brain; the cerebrum (however the centers have not been perfectly localized and the disease most likely involves connections between the cortex and other parts of the brain such as the cerebellum) and palsy refers to disorder of movement. CP is caused by damage to the motor control centers of the young developing brain and can occur during pregnancy (about 75 percent), during childbirth (about 5 percent) or after birth (about 15 percent) up to about age three. 1
In most cases, doctors don’t know exactly what causes CP, but they do know that it’s caused by damage to the brain — either while a baby is in the womb or as a result of brain damage in the first few months or years after the baby is born. If a baby is very underweight at birth or doesn’t receive enough oxygen during or right after birth, the risk of CP is increased. Babies who weigh less than 3 1/2 pounds (1,588 grams) or who are born prematurely are at risk for developing cerebral palsy. The lower the birth weight, the higher the risk. 22
Cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage that affects a child’s ability to control his or her muscles. The part of the brain that is damaged determines what parts of the body are affected. There are many possible causes of the brain damage. Some causes affect how the child’s brain develops during the first 6 months of pregnancy. These causes include genetic conditions and problems with the blood supply to the brain. Other causes of cerebral palsy happen after the brain has developed. These causes can occur during later pregnancy, delivery, or the first years of the child’s life. They include bacterial meningitis and other infections, bleeding in the brain, lack of oxygen, severe jaundice, and head injury. 5
Since in many cases the cause of cerebral palsy is difficult to determine, risk factors are difficult to establish with any measure of statistical certainty. However, there is a risk to children who are born prematurely and are of low birth weight when the mother has had a history of reproductive problems. Women who have had multiple miscarriages are at an increased risk of giving birth to a child with cerebral palsy. Statistically, more whites than African-Americans are affected, as are more males than females. 36
Cerebral palsy, also referred to as CP, is a term used to describe a group of chronic conditions affecting body movement and muscle coordination. It is caused by damage to one or more specific areas of the brain, usually occurring during fetal development; before, during, or shortly after birth; or during infancy. Thus, these disorders are not caused by problems in the muscles or nerves. Instead, faulty development or damage to motor areas in the brain disrupt the brain’s ability to adequately control movement and posture. 2
Some of the causes of cerebral palsy mentioned above can be avoided with proper medical care. If a doctor or the hospital made a birth mistake during pregnancy or delivery, it could be considered medical malpractice. It is important that you consult with cerebral palsy birth injury lawyers as soon as possible after the incident to determine whether you have a viable case. 15
In the 1860s, an English surgeon named William Little wrote the first medical descriptions of a puzzling disorder that affected children in the first years of life, causing stiff, spastic muscles in their legs and to a lesser degree, their arms. These children had difficulty grasping objects, crawling, and walking. They did not get better as they grew up nor did they become worse. Their condition, which was called Little’s disease for many years, is now known as spastic diplegia. It is one of several disorders that affect control of movement due to developmental brain injury and are grouped together under the term cerebral palsy. 2
Cerebral palsy is a medical condition caused by a permanent brain injury that occurs before, during, or shortly after birth. The effect of cerebral palsy is characterized by lack of muscle control and body movement. The cerebral palsy diagnosis is usually made shortly after birth, but may show up later in childhood. 47
References
The Panacea offers these health-extracts to help people investigate health-related subjects in greater depth using the references given in each paragraph. Kindly note that these are current extracts from the web, meant for research, and that these are not meant to be medical advise. For all your health-related needs you must consult trained and licensed personnel.
Important posts in Disabilities
comments
Leave a Reply