low leg muscle tone

[mamaw_owis]

My sons 12 month old daughter has been diagnosed with having low muscle tone in her legs.  
She does not try to stand on her legs at all.  She had a MRI done about a month ago and all that we have been told is that she has brain atrophy and that it won't get any worse or better.  I would like to know what this means in a child this age.  They don't return for a follow up visit for another month and I don't know if our nerves can handle that long of a wait.  She is doing physical therapy once a week to try to help build her leg muscles.  Has anybody else had this problem?  Thanks for any help I can get on this.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

This appears to be a cerebral palsy problem. Some areas of brain do undergo atrophy. This is a static problem; the brain tissue loss will not increase.

Now the treatment should focus on training the leg muscles and nerves to take over the functions of the lost nerves.

The child will learn to walk late, and with the physical therapy, she will recover earlier.

Regards

[mamaw_owis]

Thanks for your answer.  I checked out the symptoms and this could be the problem.  She does not seem to have stiff muscles she seems very flexable.  If you try to get her to stand she doesn't try to stiffen her legs at all.  I have seen movement in her legs so I know she has some control.  Is there a way to find out how severe the cerebral palsy is?  What tests should we ask for next. We have been told she has the development of a six month old, is this a result of the cerebral palsy?  Thanks for your help.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

It is true that her development is slow as a result of the Cerebral palsy. And it may continue to be slow for quite some time.

The severity of cerebral palsy may be assessed when the child grows up a little older, by doing neuropsychological assessment. Certain metabolic tests and genetic testing may be done additionally.

Regards