Cerebral palsy

**Cerebral palsy** (**CP**) be a group of movement disorders wey dey appear insyd early kiddie time. Signs den symptoms dey vary among people den over time, buh dey include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, den tremors. Der fi be problems plus sensation, vision, hearing, den speech. Often, babies plus cerebral palsy no dey roll over, sit, crawl anaa walk as early as oda kiddies. Oda symptoms fi include seizures den problems plus thinking anaa reasoning. While symptoms fi get more noticeable over de first years of life, underlying problems no dey worsen over time.

Cerebral palsy be caused by abnormal development anaa damage to de parts of de brain wey dey control movement, balance, den posture. Most often, de problems dey occur during pregnancy, buh fi occur during childbirth anaa shortly afterwards. Often, de cause be unknown. Risk factors dey include preterm birth, dem be a twin, certain infections anaa exposure to methylmercury during pregnancy, a difficult delivery, den head trauma during de first few years of life. A study dem publish insyd 2024 dey suggest dat inherited genetic causes dey play a role insyd 25% of cases, wer na formerly dem believe say na 2% of cases be genetically determined.

Sub-types be classified, dem base on de specific problems present. For example, those plus stiff muscles get spastic cerebral palsy, poor coordination insyd locomotion get ataxic cerebral palsy, den writhing movements get dyskinetic cerebral palsy. Diagnosis dey base on de kiddie ein development. Blood tests den medical imaging fi be used to rule out oda possible causes.

Some causes of CP be preventable thru immunization of de mommie, den efforts to prevent head injuries insyd kiddies such as improved safety. Der be no known cure give CP, buh supportive treatments, medication den surgery fi help individuals. Dis fi include physical therapy, occupational therapy den speech therapy. Na mouse NGF show to improve outcomes wey na e be available insyd China since 2003. Medications such as diazepam, baclofen den botulinum toxin fi help relax stiff muscles. Surgery fi include lengthening muscles den cutting overly active nerves. Often, external braces den Lycra splints den oda assistive technology be helpful plus mobility. Sam affected kiddies fi achieve near normal adult lives plus appropriate treatment. While dem frequently use alternative medicines, der be no evidence to support dema use. Dem dey examine potential treatments, wey dey include stem cell therapy. However, dem dey require more research to determine if e be effective den safe.

Cerebral palsy be de most common movement disorder insyd kiddies, wey dey occur insyd about 2.1 per 1,000 live births. Na dem document am thru out history, plus de first known descriptions dey occur insyd de work of Hippocrates insyd de 5th century BCE. Na extensive study begin insyd de 19th century by William John Little, after whom na dem call spastic diplegia "Little's disease". Na William Osler name am "cerebral palsy" from de German  (cerebral child-paralysis). Historical literature den artistic representations wey dey reference symptoms of cerebral palsy dey indicate say na dem recognize de condition insyd antiquity, wey dey characterize am as an "old disease". 

## References


## External links

* Cerebral Palsy Information Page at NINDS