Clinical and neuroimaging profile of congenital brain malformations in children with spastic cerebral palsy.

PURPOSE

Analysis of the incidence of congenital brain malformations in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) in a hospital-based study.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The present study included 74 boys and 56 girls with spastic tetraplegia, diplegia, and hemiplegia CP. Magnetic resonance imaging MRI findings were analyzed in children with CP.

RESULTS

Significant abnormalities relevant to the CP were evident on MRI in 124 (95.3%) subjects. Periventicular leukomalacia (PVL) was detected more frequently in children with spastic diplegia than in patients with tetraplegia or hemiplegia. Cerebral atrophy was found more often in the tetraplegic group compared to the diplegic patients. Porencephalic cysts were detected more often in children with spastic hemiplegia. Congenital brain anomalies were evident in 15 (10.7%) children with spastic CP. Brain malformations included: schizencephaly (5), agenesis corpus callosum (4), polymicrogyria (2), holoprosencephaly (2) and lissencephaly (2). Intractable epilepsy and mental retardation were observed more often in children with brain anomalies. Twelve patients with congenital brain malformations were born at term and three born at preterm.

CONCLUSIONS

Neuroimaging results in children with CP may help determine the etiology and make better prognosis of CP.