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Neurology (Expert Forum)
Cerebral Palsy
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Cerebral Palsy
by Marialid, Dec 06, 1998 12:00AM
According to statistics, what percentage of children with Cerebral Palsy also have mental retardation?
Dear Maricarmen:
This is almost impossible to answer. It depends on the etiology of the cerebral palsy. This area is undergoing some change. The diagnosis of cerebral palsy is made when we think that a brain insult has happened but is non-progressive. There are many etiologies and for each of these etiologies there is a spectrum of patients who are mentally retarded. Some of the new findings is the area of hypotonic CP. Many of these patients are beginning to be diagnosed as having a mitochondrial disorder and thus are not in the category of traditional CP (they will progressively get worse over time). For instance, if the patient has hemiplegia the study by Crothers and Paine says that about 50% have normal IQ's while 65% of the children with extrapyramidal involvement have an IQ over 70. Furthermore, these numbers do not show the intensity of parental involvement that might alter IQ scores. I would not place a certain percentage of mental retardation with CP as a generality. Although the percentage is above the
"normal" expected percentage for a given cohort of live births. I know that doesn't help you.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS
