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References and experts

What is cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy is a clinical disorder caused by a non-progressive brain injury during the developmental period. It is characterized by motor disorders (tone, posture and movement) and frequent associated signs (sensory, mental, orthopedic and/or epileptic).
This results in some degree of disability, that is, limitation in activity and possible restriction in participation. Therefore, the person with cerebral palsy will require comprehensive rehabilitation care.

It is a complex disease that requires good healthcare planning from the outset. In cerebral palsy, the approach from an early age in areas such as health, education and social welfare, is very significant for the person's future. Coordinated actions from the appearance of the first signs of the disorder between professionals from different disciplines favor the integration and improvement of the sequelae, as well as the quality of life of people with cerebral palsy.

This justifies that the socio-health care that these people receive is differentiated, making the actions start at the beginning of their life cycle and accompany them throughout their life.

"Group of disorders of the development of movement, muscle tone and posture that limit activity, attributed to non-progressive alterations, produced during brain development of the fetus or child.
The motor disorder of cerebral palsy is usually accompanied by sensory, cognitive, communication, perception and behavioral disorders. As well as with the presence of epileptic seizures and, secondarily, musculoskeletal deformities appear.”
(Executive Committee for the definition of Cerebral Palsy Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 2007).

Representative image of Aspace Difón
Pre-natal (Before birth)
  • genetics
  • Congenital brain malformations
  • Intracranial hemorrhages
Representative image of Aspace Difón
Pre-natal (During birth)
  • Cerebral anoxia
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Extreme prematurity
Cerebral palsy
Post-natal (After birth)
  • Cerebral anoxia
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • other

What causes cerebral palsy?

Some of the disorders associated with cerebral palsy and which make up its clinical expression are the following:

  • neuromotor pathology/spasticity, rigidity, dystonia, athetosis, ataxia, hypotonia and paralysis
  • muscle contractions and osteoarticular deformities
  • psychomotor and/or movement organization disorders
  • pathology and mental and psychic disorders
  • pathology and/or communication and language disorders
  • epileptic pathology
  • sensory disorders, especially visual
  • neuropsychological disorders: perceptual and executive
  • hormonal disorders
  • odonto-oro-facial pathology
  • digestive and eating disorders
  • respiratory pathology

Cerebral palsy is an alteration of multifactorial etiology produced in a brain that is maturing during the prenatal, perinatal or postnatal stage (up to the first three or six years of life according to the authors), and interferes in any of the aspects of the neurodevelopment of the 'child. Cerebral palsy shows different manifestations in its neuropsychic development, as well as in its ability to interact and relate.

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Type of cerebral palsy?

Different types of cerebral palsy are described depending on the parameters we use.

If we talk about the location of the motor disorder, we have:
monoplegia, hemiplegia, diplegia, paraplegia, triplegia, tetraplegia.

On the other hand, we can use two suffixes, paresis - to describe a loss of strength or incomplete paralysis - or plegia - equivalent to paralysis -

According to the predominant motor expression, we talk about:
spastic, dystonic or dyskinenic, rigid, ataxic, athetotic.

Most often, however, these are mixed forms that combine several types.

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