Quelque chose à améliorer ? Proposez une modification.
The main points
- Cerebral palsy (CP) affects a person's ability to move and keep their balance and posture.
- Symptoms vary widely from person to person.
- CP doesn't get worse over time, though symptoms can change over a lifetime.
- There is no cure, but treatment can improve lives.
What it is
CP is a group of disorders — "cerebral" refers to the brain, "palsy" to weakness or trouble using the muscles. It is caused by abnormal development of, or damage to, the developing brain, affecting muscle control, and it is the most common motor disability in childhood.
Someone with severe CP may need special equipment to walk, or may not walk at all, and may need lifelong care; someone with mild CP may walk a little awkwardly and need no special help. Everyone with CP has problems with movement and posture, and many also have:
- intellectual disability;
- seizures;
- problems with vision, hearing or speech;
- spine changes such as scoliosis;
- joint problems such as contractures.
March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month (#GoGreen4CP).
Types
Doctors classify CP by the main movement disorder — stiff muscles (spasticity), uncontrolled movements (dyskinesia) or poor balance and coordination (ataxia) — depending on which parts of the brain are affected.
| Type | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Spastic — the most common, about 80% | stiff muscles and awkward movement. Diplegia/diparesis: mainly the legs, which may pull together, turn in and cross at the knees (scissoring). Hemiplegia/hemiparesis: one side, usually the arm more than the leg. Quadriplegia/quadriparesis: the most severe — all four limbs, trunk and face; usually unable to walk, often with other disabilities |
| Dyskinetic (athetoid, choreoathetoid, dystonic) | uncontrollable movements of hands, arms, feet and legs, slow and writhing or fast and jerky, making sitting and walking hard; may affect the face and tongue, making sucking, swallowing and talking hard; muscle tone swings from too tight to too loose, even within a day |
| Ataxic | poor balance and coordination — unsteady walking, trouble with quick or precise movements like writing or reaching |
| Mixed | features of more than one type, most often spastic-dyskinetic |
More: the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke on types of cerebral palsy.
Early signs
The main sign is delay in reaching movement milestones — rolling over, sitting, standing, walking. Some children without CP show some of these signs too.
- Under 6 months: the head lags when you lift the baby from lying on their back; the baby feels stiff or floppy; when cradled, they arch back as if pushing away; when lifted, their legs stiffen and cross.
- Over 6 months: they don't roll over; can't bring their hands together or to their mouth; reach with one hand while keeping the other fisted.
- Over 10 months: they crawl lopsidedly, pushing with one hand and leg and dragging the others, or scoot on their bottom or hop on their knees instead of crawling on all fours.
CDC's Learn the Signs. Act Early. program offers free tools, including the Milestone Tracker app (English and Spanish) for ages 2 months to 5 years.
Causes
People once thought CP was mostly caused by lack of oxygen during birth; scientists now think that explains only a few cases. The brain damage or abnormal development can happen before, during or within a month after birth, or in the first years of life while the brain is developing.
- Congenital CP — from before or during birth — is 85% to 90% of cases; often the specific cause is unknown.
- Acquired CP — from damage more than 28 days after birth — is a small share, usually linked to an infection such as meningitis or a head injury.
More: risk factors.
Diagnosis
Diagnosing CP early matters for children and families. It can take several steps: developmental monitoring (tracking growth and development over time), developmental screening (a short test for delays when concerns arise), and developmental and medical evaluations to pin down the disorder.
If you're concerned, ask to be connected with your state or territory's early intervention program — you don't need a doctor's referral or a diagnosis to call. More: screening.
Treatment
There's no cure, but early treatment helps. A team of health professionals builds a plan with the child and family; common treatments include medicines, surgery, braces, and physical, occupational and speech therapy. No single treatment suits every child, so discuss risks and benefits with the doctor. More: treatment and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke's cerebral palsy page.
What CDC does
Through its Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, CDC tracks how many children have CP over time and in different places, which helps in looking for risk factors and causes, and it promotes early identification of CP and other developmental disabilities.
Sources
Based on "About Cerebral Palsy," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The source's photographs and promotional graphics, built around stock photographs, are not reproduced.
Licence : CC0 1.0 (domaine public) · Adapté de www.cdc.gov
1
0
0
0
commentaires
