jades brain

wold any of the doctors reply. my daghter had mir done.lots of damage on brain. she is cerebral palsy and seizres. the areas in the brain that are fine she is getting seizres in the brain. on meds topamax from tonight. doc says that she wont develop and might not live a long life. what will make her die. her brain stem is fine and healthy. need to know please.she eats drinks normally. please help.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

It is very difficult for anyone to comment upon the prognosis (future outlook) of a child with Cerebral Palsy.

Neurologists and pediatricians combine clinical examination and neuroimaging (MRI) to come to any sort of a conclusion about life expectancy.

Cerebral palsy is not a degenerative disease. But it can not be cured or improved also.

Children with cerebral palsy often go on to live more than they are usually thought to. When doctors tell about any time period, they do so on the basis of research done in the past. But with the current upward trend in the medical science, there are different ways by which the child can be helped, and live longer than expected.

Those children, who survive the initial critical period, do live longer. If your daughter is around 4 or five, she has a better prospect. You have to take extra care for 2-3 more years.

According to a review, the minimum life expectancy for children who could not even sit up was 20 years from the age of diagnosis.

These are just comments. They may not be taken as medical advice.

Hoping for your daughter's health.

Regards