Cerebral Palsy (cont.)
What is choreoathetoid cerebral palsy?
Choreoathetoid cerebral palsy is associated with abnormal, uncontrollable, writhing
movements of the arms and/or legs. Different from spastic cerebral palsy, persons with
choreoathetoid cerebral palsy have variable muscle tone often with decreased muscle tone
(hypotonia). Contractures of extremities are less common. The abnormal movements
are activated by stress, as well as by normal emotional reactions such as
laughing. Any attempt to do voluntary movements, for example extending the arm
in an attempt to reach an object might result in many involuntary movements in
arms, legs, trunk, and even the face. There are different types of abnormal
movements. Two of the most common are choreoathetotic movement disorder with
rapid, irregular, unpredictable contractions of individual or small muscles
groups and dystonia with a persistent but not permanent, abnormal posture of
some body parts (arms, legs, trunk) due to abnormal muscle contractions. The
dystonic disorder also affects the muscle of the facial expression, swallowing,
deglutition and speech, resulting in severe functional deficiencies.
These movements can be quite debilitating and greatly limit the child's
ability to perform many motor tasks. Furthermore, the movements are akin to
constant exercise, thereby causing the affected child to metabolize a huge number of
calories. Choreoathetoid cerebral palsy is often associated with damage to specialized brain
structures that are involved in movement control -- the basal ganglia. Like
spastic cerebral palsy, the degree of symptom severity often varies, from mild to severely
affected.
What is hypotonic cerebral palsy?
Hypotonia is diminished muscle tone. The infant or child with hypotonic
cerebral palsy
appears floppy -- like a rag doll. In early infancy, hypotonia can be easily
seen by the inability of the infant to gain any head control when pulled by the
arms to a sitting position (this symptom is often referred to as head lag).
Children with severe hypotonias may have the most difficulty of all children
with cerebral palsy in attaining motor skill milestones and normal cognitive development.
Hypotonic cerebral palsy is often the result of severe brain damage or malformations. It
is believed that hypotonic cerebral palsy is the result of an injury or malformation at an
earlier brain developmental stage than that which causes spastic or
choreoathetoid cerebral palsy.
Hypotonia in infancy is a common finding in many neurological conditions,
ranging from very mild abnormalities to severe or even fatal neurodegenerative
or muscle disorders. It is important to note that many children with spastic
cerebral palsy
go through a short stage of being somewhat hypotonic in early life, before
presenting the full syndrome.
Next: What is mixed cerebral palsy? »
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