Cerebral Palsy—Don't Delay

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most severe physical disability within the spectrum of developmental delay. CP is an umbrella term describing a group of motor disorders, accompanied by many associated impairments. The disability is a result of injuries to the developing brain occurring any time from the first trimester of pregnancy through to early childhood. However, for the great majority, their full etiological causal pathway remains unclear. It is important to discriminate as early as possible between: (a) mild or nonspecific motor delay, (b) developmental coordination disorder, (c) syndromes, (d) metabolic and progressive conditions, and (e) CP with its various motor types and distributions. The most promising predictive tool for CP is the general movements assessment, which assesses the quality of spontaneous movements of infants in the first 4 months of life. We propose a change in diagnostic practice. We recommend a shift away from referral for intervention following a formal (most often late) description of CP, to one of referral for intervention which occurs immediately once an infant is considered "at risk" of CP.

Chronic Neuromotor Disability After Complex Cardiac Surgery in Early Life

“…16 Each child was seen by a developmental pediatrician; if CND was suspected, a pediatric neurologist confirmed diagnoses. The CND nature, typology (spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic, hypotonic), anatomic distribution (unilateralbilateral) of the motor disorder 17,18 ; functional motor abilities, (including oromotor involvement); accompanying impairments (intellectual disability; communication, vision, hearing impairments; epilepsy; autism spectrum disorder); and neuroimaging findings were recorded. 13 Medical records of children with confirmed CND diagnoses were independently reviewed by 2 investigators (MFR, CMTR).…”

Cerebral palsy after assisted reproductive technology: a cohort study

“…1 The causes of CP are many, often multifactorial and poorly understood, with events of the preconceptional, pregnancy, perinatal, and postneonatal periods implicated. 2 The criterion standard for calculating the prevalence and describing clinical characteristics of CP are population-based CP registers. Individual registers that are long-standing, with minimal methodological concerns, can be used to track changes in CP prevalence over time, as well as provide 'real world' evidence of the influence of changes to clinical practice.…”

Metodología de Evaluación de Eye-trackers como Dispositivos de Acceso Alternativo para Personas con Parálisis Cerebral

“…La parálisis cerebral (PC) es una de las discapacidades más severas de los niños (McIntyre, Morgan, Walker, & Novak, 2011). La definición más citada de PC es la que la describe como "un trastorno de la postura y el movimiento debido a un defecto o lesión en el cerebro inmaduro (Bax et al, 2005)'', en los periodos perinatales principalmente.…”