Hi, this is Tom, and in this episode I'm going to be going through Cerebral Palsy.

And you can find notes at 0.0.5.com slash cerebral palsy and in the 0 to finals pediatrics book.

And if you're preparing for medical school exams, particularly medical school

finals, check out the zero to finals finals revision book available at zero to finals shop.com.

So let's jump straight in. Cerebral palsy involves permanent neurological problems resulting from damage to the brain occurring

in the antinatal, perinatal and early postnatal periods. Antinatal refers to the pregnancy, perinatal

refers to the period around birth and postnatal is after birth.

Although it's not a progressive condition, the nature of the symptoms and problems in cerebral palsy

may change as the child grows and develops. There is a massive variation in the severity and type of symptoms, ranging from

subtle symptoms to requiring a wheelchair and being entirely dependent on others.

Let's go through the risk factors. Key risk factors in the antenatal period include maternal infection, preeclampsia and multiple pregnancy.

Risk factors in the perinatal period include birth asphyxia, preterm birth and low birth weight,

and risk factors in the postnatal period include meningitis,

severe neonatal jaundice, and head injury.

Let's talk about the types of cerebral palsy.

Spastic cerebral palsy involves hypotonia or increased muscle tone and loss of the inhibitory upper motor neuron control.

Spastic cerebral palsy is the result of upper motor neuron damage.

Dyskinetic cerebral palsy involves problems with dystonia,

atheroid movements and oral motor control. Dystonia involves involuntary muscle contractions

that cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures.

Athertoid movements are slow, involuntary, writhing movements, typically affecting the hands and

the feet. And oral motor control refers to the ability to use the muscles around the mouth,

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