What is Cerebral Palsy? Different Types of Cerebral Palsy Explained

Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects movement, balance, and other tasks. It occurs when the brain does not develop correctly in utero or after birth. Cerebral palsy can have many different effects on an individual’s life. However, it does not impact intelligence or decrease lifespan. The primary focus with cerebral palsy is on maintaining function to the extent that the person is able to lead as normal of a life as possible. Cerebral palsy affects approximately one out of every 650 babies born in the United States each year. There are several different types of cerebral palsy which are determined by factors such as location in the brain and type of damage caused by its underdeveloped state.

What Is Cerebral Palsy?                                                                                   

Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects movement, balance, and other tasks. It occurs when the brain does not develop correctly in utero or after birth. Cerebral palsy can have many different effects on an individual’s life. However, it does not impact intelligence or decrease lifespan. The primary focus with cerebral palsy is on maintaining function to the extent that the person is able to lead as normal of a life as possible. Cerebral palsy affects approximately one out of every 650 babies born in the United States each year. There are several different types of cerebral palsy which are determined by factors such as location in the brain and type of damage caused by its underdeveloped state.

What Are the Different Types of Cerebral Palsy?

Spastic Cerebral Palsy 

 Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common type of cerebral palsy. In the majority of cases, the damage occurs in the part of the brain where the nerves are being formed. This results in hypertonia (abnormally increased muscle tone), increased tightness, and an increased resistance to stretch of the muscles. This increase in muscle tone often leads to spasticity, especially in the lower limb muscles.

Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy                                                                                                                          

 Dyskinetic types of cerebral palsy are due to a disruption in the development of the basal ganglia or the subthalamic nucleus of the brain. The basal ganglia help regulate motor function, including movement, posture, balance, and coordination. The subthalamic nucleus transmits signals from the basal ganglia and other parts of the brain to the thalamus, which helps regulate sensory processing.

Ataxic Cerebral Palsy                                                                                                                                   

 Ataxic types of cerebral palsy are due to damage within the cerebellum. The cerebellum regulates posture and gait. Damage within the cerebellum leads to the inability to maintain posture and balance. This can cause an individual to have a wobbly and uncoordinated gait.

Mixed Type Cerebral Palsy 

 Some individuals are diagnosed with a mixed type of cerebral palsy. This means that they have symptoms of multiple types of cerebral palsy. The most common types of mixed cerebral palsy are spastic and dyskinetic. The combination of these two types leads to a condition known as ataxic-spastic cerebral palsy. 

Other Forms of Cerebral Palsy - Other forms of cerebral palsy include non-spastic types, such as ataxic and dyskinetic, and non-cerebral types such as Tarlov cysts. In addition, there are rare congenital brain abnormalities that cause cerebral palsy-like symptoms. These include Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease and congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

Conclusion

Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects movement, balance, and other tasks. It occurs when the brain does not develop correctly in utero or after birth. Cerebral palsy can have many different effects on an individual’s life. However, it does not impact intelligence or decrease lifespan. The primary focus with cerebral palsy is on maintaining function to the extent that the person is able to lead as normal of a life as possible. Cerebral palsy affects approximately one out of every 650 babies born in the United States each year. There are several different types of cerebral palsy which are determined by factors such as location in the brain and type of damage caused by its underdeveloped state.