Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment of Cerebral Palsy

摘要

First described by Dr William Little in the 1860s, cerebral palsy is a nonprogressive neurologic disorder, which is identified in infancy or early childhood and affects body movement and muscle coordination. Diagnosed typically by 2 to 3 years of age, children affected by cerebral palsy exhibit a large variety of symptoms, with a wide spectrum of effects. The Center for Disease Control estimates 10,000 babies are affected with cerebral palsy in the United States each year, and it is more common in infants born preterm. Although widely believed to be due predominantly to intrapartum events, recent data have found that birth asphyxia or birth trauma accounts for a very small proportion of cerebral palsy cases.