Brainpalsy.com - Helping Parents Combat Cerebral Palsy

Streaks are movements that the body makes automatically in response to a specific signal. For example, if a newborn baby takes place in the back and tilted so that the legs are over his head, the baby will automatically extend his arms in a gesture, called the Moro reflex, that looks like a hug. Babies lose this reflex after they reach 6 months, but those with cerebral palsy may retain for abnormally long periods. This is just one of several reflexes that a doctor can check.

Doctors also can find hand preference - a tendency to use either the right or left more often. When the doctor has an object in front of and beside the child, a baby with the use of hand preference in favour of the hand to achieve the object, even when it is held over to the opposite hand. During the first 12 months of life, babies often do not show preference hand. But children with spastic hemiplegia, in particular, may develop a preference much earlier, since the side unaffected by the side of his body is stronger and more useful.

The next step in the diagnosis of cerebral palsy is to rule out other disorders that can cause problems of movement. Most importantly, doctors must determine that the child’s condition is not worsening. Although its symptoms may change over time, cerebral palsy, by definition, is not progressive. If a child is continuously losing motor skills, the problem most likely springs from elsewhere - including genetic diseases, muscle diseases, metabolic disorders, or tumours in the nervous system. The child’s medical history, diagnostic tests special, and in some cases, repeated checkups can help confirm that other disorders are not at fault.

The doctor may also order tests for more specialized information about the possible cause of cerebral palsy. One of these trials is computed tomography, or CT, a sophisticated imaging technique that uses X-rays and a computer to create an image of anatomical brain tissues and structures. A CT scan can reveal areas of the brain that are underdeveloped, abnormal cysts (sacks that are often filled with liquid) in the brain or other physical problems. With information from CT scans, doctors may be better equipped to judge the long-term prospects for a child affected.

The magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is a relatively new brain imaging technique that is rapidly gaining widespread use for the identification of brain disorders. This technique uses a magnetic field and radio waves, instead of X-ray MRI provides better images of structures or abnormal areas located near the bones than CT.

A third test that can expose problems in the tissues of the brain is ultrasound. This technique bounces sound waves off the brain and uses the pattern of echoes to form an image, or sonogram, of its structures. Ultrasound can be used on babies before the bones of the skull harden and narrow. Although it is less accurate than CT and MRI scanning, this technique can detect cysts and structures in the brain, is less expensive, and does not require long periods of immobility.

Finally, doctors may want to look for other conditions that are associated with cerebral palsy, including seizure, mental disorders, and vision or hearing problems.

When the doctor suspects a seizure disorder, an electroencephalogram, or EEG, can be ordered. An EEG uses special patches called electrodes placed on the scalp to record the natural electrical currents inside the brain. These records can help the doctor see patterns witness in the brain electrical activity that suggest a seizure disorder.

Intelligence tests are often used to determine whether a child with cerebral palsy is mentally. Sometimes, however, a child intelligence may be underestimated because of problems with the movement, sensation, or speech due to cerebral palsy make it difficult for him or her to perform well in these tests.

If problems with vision are suspected, the doctor may refer the patient to an ophthalmologist for consideration; hearing if it seems likely, an otologist can be called in.

The identification of these conditions accompanying it is important and is increasingly accurate as yields ongoing research advances that make it easier to diagnose. Many of these conditions can be addressed through specific treatments, improving the long-term prospects for people with cerebral palsy.