pathophysiology of cp. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood. Cerebral means having to do with the brain. Palsy means weakness or problems with using the muscles.

1. CEREBRAL
PALSY

2. DEFINITION
It is an umbrella term used
for static/ non progressive
disorders of the brain
affecting the development
of movement, posture and
coordination resulting from
a lesion of an immature
brain.
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3. AETIOLOGY
80% of CP is caused by an in utero brain
injury, 10% occurs around the time of birth
and 10% occurs in early childhood.
Generally classified as;
 Prenatal cause
 Perinatal cause
 Postnatal causes
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5. Classification of cerebral palsy
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6. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF CEREBRAL PALSY
• SPASTIC HEMIPLEGIA: Intrauterine thromboembolism leading to cerebral
infarction (stroke: affecting middle cerebral artery).
• SPASTIC DIPLEGIA: damage to immature oligodendroglia, periventricular
leukomalacia (is injury to the white matter around the fluid-filled ventricles
of the brain, most common in very premature babies), it occurs in 20-34
weeks of gestation.
• SPASTIC QUADRIPLEGIA: periventricular leukomalacia, multi-cystic
encephalomalacia, cortical malformation, it occurs in full term babies.
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• DYSKINETIC/ EXTRAPYRAMIDAL CP: damage to extrapyramidal system as a
result of neonatal jaundice/ acute severe perinatal asphyxia causes lesions in the
globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus and status marmoratus (basal ganglia and
thalamus)
• CHOREOATHETOTIC CP: kernicterus (brain damage due to increase in the level
of bilirubin in baby’s blood) leading to damage to the basal ganglia.
• ATAXIC CP: it is congenital in origin- malformation of cerebellum, autosomal
inheritance, perinatal asphyxia and hydrocephalous.
• HYPOTONIC CP: injury/ malformation at an earlier brain development stage.
• MIXED CP: involvement of large areas of brain affecting the cortex, subcortical
areas and basal ganglia.

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10. tHANKYOU
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