Brainpalsy.com - Helping Parents Combat Cerebral Palsy

The first signs of cerebral palsy may be present from birth. Most children with cerebral palsy was diagnosed during the first 2 years of life. But if a child symptoms are mild, it may be difficult for a doctor to make a reliable diagnosis before the age of 4 or 5. However, if a doctor suspects cerebral palsy, he or she will most likely schedule an appointment to observe the child and talk to parents about their physical and behavioral development.  Doctors diagnose cerebral palsy, by assessing a child of motor skills and take a careful and thorough look at your medical history. In addition to checking the most characteristic symptoms - slow development, abnormal muscle tone, and the unusual position - a doctor must also rule out other disorders that can cause similar symptoms. Most importantly, a doctor must determine that the child’s condition is not worsening. Although the symptoms may change over time, cerebral palsy, by definition, is not progressive. If a child is continuously losing motor skills, the problem began more likely elsewhere - or as a genetic muscle disease, metabolic disorders, or tumours in the nervous system. An extensive medical history, diagnostic tests special, and in some cases, repeated checkups can help confirm that other disorders are not at fault.  Other additional tests are often used to rule out other movement disorders that might cause the same symptoms as cerebral palsy. Neuroimaging techniques that allow physicians to see in the brain (such as an MRI scan) can detect abnormalities that indicate a possible movement disorder treatable. In the case of cerebral palsy, an MRI can also show a doctor the location and type of brain damage.  Neuroimaging methods include:        * Cranial ultrasound. This test is used in high-risk preterm infants, since it is the least intrusive of imaging techniques, although not as successful as the two methods described below to capture subtle changes in the white matter - the type of brain tissue that is damaged in cerebral palsy.       * Computed Tomography (CT). This technique creates images that show the structure of the brain and areas of damage.       * The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. This test uses a computer, a magnetic field and radio waves to create an image of anatomical brain tissues and structures. Doctors prefer magnetic resonance imaging, as it offers the finest level of detail.  On rare occasions, metabolic disorders can masquerade as cerebral palsy and some children will require additional evidence to rule out. Most children have metabolic disorders characteristic brain abnormalities or malformations that appear on an MRI.  Other types of disorders may also be confused with cerebral palsy. For example, clotting disorders (which prevent blood clotting) may cause prenatal or perinatal strokes that damage the brain and cause symptoms characteristic of cerebral palsy. Because stroke is so often the cause of hemiplegic cerebral palsy, a doctor can be seen from the need to conduct tests on children with this type of cerebral palsy to exclude the presence of a coagulation disorder. If left undiagnosed, clotting disorders can cause more strokes and larger brain damage.  To confirm a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, a doctor can refer a child to other physicians with expertise and training as a child neurologist, pediatrician development, eye specialist (optometrist), or otologist (ear doctor). Additional comments help a doctor make a more accurate diagnosis and begin to develop a specific plan for treatment.

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Tags: Cerebral Palsy, Computed tomography, Human brain, Magnetic resonance imaging, Physical examination, Physical therapy, United States, White matter

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