Morphological brain damage, functional disorders and the possibilities of their treatment in children with infantile cerebral palsy.

Twenty-four children with infantile cerebral palsy (6 girls and 18 boys aged 3-17 years), surgically treated in the years 1993-1997, were involved in the study. Neurological-orthopaedic examinations and computer tomography (CT) of the head allowed precise diagnosis and understanding of its pathology. The group consisted of 10 patients with hemiplegia, 10 with diplegia and 4 with severe quadriplegia. In 18 children changes in the brain were largely dependent on the clinical type of paresis. In hemiparesis, unilateral changes, such as cerebral cortex atrophy with enlarged ventricles, were predominant. Diplegia cases frequently showed periventricular damage to the white matter. Brain tomography in severe quadriplegia did not always correspond to the clinical condition. CT examinations revealed no abnormalities in the brain in 6 out of 24 cases. Since the results of rehabilitation were not satisfactory, 29 surgical procedures were performed in the presented group of patients, with improved the course of therapeutic rehabilitation or nursing care in all the children.