Pediatric / Cerebral Palsy / Causes

Causes

Cerebral palsy results from an abnormality in or injury to the cerebrum — the largest area of the brain, which controls sensation and voluntary motor function. Although cerebral palsy affects movement, the underlying problem originates in the brain, not in the muscles themselves.

A small number of children with cerebral palsy acquire the disorder after birth. In these cases, doctors can sometimes pinpoint a specific reason for the neurological problem. For example, cerebral palsy can develop following an illness during early infancy, such as bacterial meningitis — an infection and inflammation of the membranes and fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It can also be the result of a head injury.

However, doctors don't completely understand the cause of most cases of cerebral palsy, which are present at birth (congenital). For many years, doctors and researchers believed that cerebral palsy was caused by a lack of oxygen during birth. Now they believe that only a small number of cases are caused by problems during labor and delivery.

Doctors and researchers have now identified many possible causes of congenital cerebral palsy, including:

• Maternal infection during pregnancy, such as rubella or other viral infections

• Severe jaundice in newborns, which may be caused by infection, severe bruising or problems with red blood cells due to ABO or Rh incompatibility — two incompatibilities between the blood of the mother and her fetus

• Abnormal brain development before birth, resulting from genetic causes or metabolic disorders

• Disturbance to brain circulation before birth, caused by an artery spasm or blood clot, similar to a stroke in adults