Cerebral palsy in very low birthweight infants

Article Abstract:

Cerebral palsy is a disorder of movement and posture caused by damage to the brain tissue during delivery or by defects occurring during brain development. It is commonly believed that injury during the perinatal period (during delivery) can also cause brain damage leading to cerebral palsy. It is now thought that certain defects in brain development predispose infants to events during the perinatal period. The paralysis can affect similar parts on both sides of the body (diplegia), one half of the body (hemiplegia), or all four limbs and all or part of the trunk (quadriplegia). Cerebral palsy is thought to occur more often in premature infants with very low birth weight. Thus far, studies have failed to find factors that distinguish between affected and unaffected low birth weigh infants. Some studies have grouped all cerebral palsied children together, assuming there is a common cause. To see if cerebral palsy in low birth weight infants is associated more with brain damage caused by a birth injury or with events occurring during pregnancy and brain development, 81 low birth weight survivors with cerebral palsy were studied. Characteristics of the mother's previous pregnancy history, current pregnancy history, and labor and delivery experience were analyzed. Complications, treatments, and diagnostic ultrasound results during the newborn period were also reviewed. All the variables were analyzed and compared with similarly-matched comparison groups of infants. Perinatal profiles were different between the cerebral palsied infants and the controls. Perinatal variables were different in infants with diplegia, but additional post-delivery factors were needed to distinguish between cerebral palsied infants and infants in the comparison group. The diagnostic ultrasound images of the brain were different in the different types of cerebral palsy. On the basis of these results, it seems that diplegia is largely determined before birth, while hemiplegia and quadriplegia are related to perinatal events. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Physiological aspects, Brain damage

---

Trends in preterm survival and incidence of cerebral haemorrhage 1980-9

Article Abstract:

Studies show that survival of premature infants has improved and the death rate of infants with low birth weight has decreased. These changes have been associated with the introduction of improvements in intensive care for low birth weight infants. Intracranial hemorrhage, or bleeding within the brain, can be complicated by various problems. Studies suggest that the incidence of intracranial bleeding has declined relative to the reduction in death rate in premature infants. The trends in death rates and brain-related disabilities among newborns were assessed at a large neonatal intensive and special care unit in the United Kingdom. Specifically, the yearly survival rates and incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage were determined in 2,618 premature infants (born at 34 weeks' gestation or less). The study was conducted over a 10-year period between January 1980 and December 1989. The results showed that survival increased by 56 percent over this period, but there was no significant trend in the incidence of cerebral hemorrhage. The rates of cesarean section increased from 31 percent in 1980 to over 50 percent in 1989. Hemorrhage involving the brain parenchyma, the functional portion of the brain, slightly declined. The lack of an association between changes in infant survival and incidence of cerebral hemorrhage suggests that factors affecting survival and cerebral hemorrhage may not be associated. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Abnormalities, Patient outcomes, Mortality, Infants (Premature), Premature infants, Infant mortality, Brain, Brain hemorrhage, Brain abnormalities

---

Birthweight specific trends in cerebral palsy

Article Abstract:

Cerebral palsy results from developmental defects of the brain or from trauma at birth, and is characterized by muscle paralysis. Infants with low birth weights are at high risk for developing cerebral palsy. Twenty-five to 40 percent of all cases of cerebral palsy are found in the 6 to 7 percent of infants who had low birth weights. Due to recent advances in medicine more low-birth-weight infants are surviving and concern exists that these infants might become impaired. A number of registers have examined the trends in the prevalence of cerebral palsy and low birth weight. A recent register of 1,056 infants with cerebral palsy reported that 31 percent of the babies had paralysis of one side of the body, 22 percent had paralysis affecting only parts of the body on both sides, and 35 percent had paralysis of all four limbs. No significant changes have been observed in the prevalence of cerebral palsy among infants with normal birth weights. However, a significant increase in the prevalence of all types of cerebral palsy has been observed in low-birth-weight infants. Surviving infants who weighed the least at birth developed cerebral palsy later than infants weighing more at birth. It is suggested that the changes in the prevalence of cerebral palsy could be the result of improved low-birth-weight infant survival. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Complications and side effects, Demographic aspects

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Outcomes of extremely-low-birth-weight infants between 1982 and 1988. Effect of very low birth weight and subnormal head size on cognitive abilities at school age
• Abstracts: Community-based medical education in the Philippines. Preparing for medical consequences of terrorism. Clinical interventions in tobacco control: a National Cancer Institute Training Program for Physicians
• Abstracts: Ischaemic brain lesions diagnosed at birth in preterm infants: clinical events and developmental outcome. Withdrawal of life support in babies: deceptive signals
• Abstracts: Clinical trials: concerns of the patient and the public. Ethical considerations in randomized controlled clinical trials
• Abstracts: Acute epiglottitis in children and adults in Sweden 1981-3. Increasing incidence of coeliac disease in Sweden

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.