Minor congenital anomalies and ataxic cerebral palsy.

Abstract

SUMMARY The incidence of minor congenital anomalies was examined in 36 patients with ataxic cerebral palsy, in unaffected family members, and in 100 unrelated control subjects. None of the control subjects or family members had more than four anomalies, and 25 of 36 (69%) of the patients had more than four. The distribution of anomalies differed considerably, with 60% of the index cases having seven or more, and 94% of the controls having three or less. The number occurring in the patients was significantly more than in their relatives. Of the 25 patients with more than four anomalies, 16 (64%) had undergone potentially adverse perinatal or early postnatal events. Thus minor congenital anomalies were considerably more frequent in those with ataxic cerebral palsy than in related or unrelated control subjects. These anomalies may be markers of early prenatal factors that contributed to the adverse outcome either directly or by predisposing to perinatal difficulties.

Predictors of neonatal encephalopathy in full term infants

“…An association between antepartum haemorrhage and cerebral palsy has also been shown 25 26. We noted an excess of not only central nervous system congenital abnormalities in cases but, as with cerebral palsy,27 28 also of multiple minor anomalies. This suggests that early prenatal factors had contributed to the neonatal encephalopathy.…”

Population Case-Control Study of Cerebral Palsy: Neonatal Predictors for Low-Risk Term Singletons

“…In the past, it was hypothesized that congenital facial dysmorphisms were overascertained retrospectively for children with CP, because of postnatal growth restriction of the brain and hence cranial volume. 21 This cannot be the case in this study, because the data in perinatal medical records was collected prospectively.…”

Autism-A Multifaceted Diffuse Pathology

“…Volkmar argues that if birth complications are an etiologically relevant factor, autism would be expected to occur with increased frequency in populations with an increased risk for birth complications. An increased rate of birth complications is also found in children with cerebral palsy, severe mental retardation [40][41][42], chromosomal aberrations, and genetic disorders [43,44]. Thus, we propose that this interpretation is simplistic since comorbidities represent a fraction of any disorder, suggesting that shared commonalities exist and can be complicated in their pattern of expression.…”