Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most frequent causes of motor disability in children. According to the up-to-date definition, CP is a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitations that are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing foetal or infant brain. The CP definition has evolved over time; the problem is aetiologically and clinically very heterogeneous. According to European data, the average frequency of CP is 2.08 per 1000 live births, but in the group of children born with a body weight below 1500 g, the frequency is 70 times higher when compared with the group of children with a body weight over 2500 g at birth. The risk factors for CP can be divided into preconception, prenatal, perinatal and postnatal ones. CP commonly co-exists with epilepsy, in particular drug-resistant epilepsy, but also with mental retardation, visual and hearing impairment, as well as feeding and behavioral disorders. The degree of motor problem varies from mild to very severe making the child totally dependent on caregivers. Cerebral palsy is divided into forms depending on the type of motor disorders which dominate the clinical presentation; the traditional classifications by Ingram and Hagberg have now been replaced by the Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe classification which divides CP into spastic, dyskinetic and ataxic forms. Although cerebral palsy is a clinical diagnosis, modern diagnostic imaging provides information that allows the division of the results of magnetic resonance imaging in children with cerebral palsy into five groups according to the magnetic resonance imaging classification system. Just as the clinical presentation and the factors predisposing for CP are very diverse, treatment is also a very complex problem. Modern treatment of spasticity includes both botulinum toxin therapies and surgical techniques, eg, rhizotomy. The authors present current views on definitions, risk factors, diagnostics and treatment of CP as well as comorbid problems, eg, drug-resistant epilepsy.

In-hospital mortality occurred in 2.6% of pediatric AIS cases. Most deaths were attributable to stroke. Risk factors for in-hospital mortality included congenital heart disease and posterior plus anterior circulation stroke. Presentation without seizures and Hispanic ethnicity were also associated with mortality for neonates and children, respectively. Awareness and study of risk factors for mortality represent opportunities to increase survival.

Seizures and epilepsy are quite a common outcome of arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) both in pediatric and adult patients, with distinctly higher occurrence in children. These poststroke consequences affect patients’ lives, often causing disability. Poststroke seizure (PSS) may also increase mortality in patients with AIS. Early PSS (EPSS) occurring up to 7 days after AIS, late PSS (LPSS) occurring up to 2 years after the onset of AIS, as well as poststroke epilepsy (PSE) can be distinguished. However, the exact definition and cutoff point for PSE should be determined. A wide range of risk factors for seizures and epilepsy after AIS are still being detected and analyzed. More accurate knowledge on risk factors for PSS and PSE as well as possible prediction of epileptic seizures after the onset of AIS may have an impact on improving the prevention and treatment of PSE. The aim of the present review was to discuss current perspectives on diagnosis and treatment of PSS and PSE, both in adult and paediatric patients.

Arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) in childhood is reported to occur more frequently in boys, which may lead to the assumption that the prevalence of post-stroke deficits is sex related. The present study aimed to evaluate sex-related differences in functional outcomes (hemiparesis, seizures, aphasia, and motor disturbances other than hemiparesis) in pediatric patients with AIS. A total of 89 children (52 boys and 37 girls; mean age at stroke onset: 8.4 ± 5.6 years) were evaluated retrospectively based on data from medical records. The patients were divided into subgroups according to age (i.e., infants and toddlers, children, and adolescents), stroke subtype (i.e., lacunar anterior circulation infarct (LACI), total anterior circulation infarct (TACI), partial anterior circulation infarct (PACI), posterior circulation infarct (POCI)) and stroke location (i.e., anterior stroke, posterior stroke). Significant differences in the prevalence of stroke subtypes between girls and boys were observed (p = 0.034). POCI stroke were found to be more frequent in boys than in girls (OR = 8.57 95%CI 1.05–70.23, p = 0.023). Males predominated in the total group and in all analyzed age subgroups. The proportions of boys within the subgroups according to stroke subtype were extremely high for the POCI and TACI stroke subgroups. On the other hand, girls predominated in the LACI stroke subgroup. Frequency of central type facial nerve palsy and other symptoms of AIS were found to significantly differ between male subgroups according to stroke subtype (p = 0.050 and p < 0.001, respectively), as well as between children with anterior stroke and those with posterior stroke (p = 0.059 and p < 0.001, respectively). Post-stroke seizures appeared significantly more commonly in girls with TACI and POCI stroke than in girls with LACI and PACI stroke (p = 0.022). In turn, the prevalence of post-stroke hemiparesis differed between stroke subtypes in boys (p = 0.026). In conclusion, sex may have an impact in predisposing to a certain type of AIS in the patient. Post-stroke seizure may be related to stroke subtype in girls and hemiparesis in boys. However, further studies are needed to confirm the results.