Origins of cerebral palsy

The major causes of cerebral palsy were researched using a massive database prepared by the United States National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke. Cerebral palsy was defined as a chronic neurological disorder involving abnormal control of movement or posture that occurs early in life and does not progress. This prospective study of 43,437 full-term infants identified 34 quadriplegic and 116 nonquadriplegic children who suffered from cerebral palsy. Significant events attending to the pregnancy, labor, delivery, and early postnatal period of the infants were recorded and developmental progress was evaluated up to seven years of age. Twenty-three infants were diagnosed with cerebral palsy before the age of one, and the remaining 127 children were diagnosed by the age of seven. The 150 cases of cerebral palsy ranged from mild to severe. The data suggest that 53 percent of the 34 quadriplegic children suffered from cerebral palsy as the result of congenital disorders, and that only 14 percent of the cases of quadriplegia were caused by asphyxia, or decreased oxygen supply, during the birthing process. In the less severely afflicted group, 35 percent of the cases were attributed to congenital problems and 6 percent to other disorders. Only 9 of the 150 cases of cerebral palsy were caused by birth asphyxia (6 percent). Congenital disorders were responsible for nearly four times as many cases of quadriplegic cerebral palsy than birth asphyxia. Contrary to popular opinion, these data suggest that most cases of cerebral palsy do not result from a reduced supply of oxygen during a difficult birth. To validate a correct diagnosis of birth asphyxia, the importance of accurate documentation of measurements and observations of newborns is stressed. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)