[A clinical study of cerebral palsy in Shiga; 1977-1986--II. Severity of the disability and complications in various types of cerebral palsy].

The severity of the disability and complications was evaluated at 6 years of age in 202 cases of cerebral palsy (CP) in Shiga Prefecture (69 with spastic diplegia, 62 with tetraplegia, 33 with hemiplegia, 23 with the dyskinetic type and 15 with the ataxic type) born between April 1977 and March 1987. The degree of gross motor disability differed among the clinical types, being mild in 45%, moderate in 17%, and severe in 39%. Gross motor disability was generally correlated with mental retardation, with some exceptions. Some non-ambulatory cases exhibited a normal or subnormal mentality, and most of such cases had been preterm infants with spastic diplegia. Most cases with mild gross motor disability and severe or moderate mental retardation had been term infants. Forty-eight percent suffered from epilepsy (25% in spastic diplegia, 86% in tetraplegia, 45% in hemiplegia, 39% in the dyskinetic type and 13% in the ataxic type). Microcephaly was noted in 35% (66% in tetraplegia and about 20% in other types).