5). what is cerebral palsy ? definition, symptoms & types ?

A). Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent disorders affecting movement, muscle coordination, and posture due to abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain, most often around birth or early childhood. It is a non-progressive brain disorder that impairs a person’s ability to control their muscles and maintain balance and posture.

Definition:

Cerebral palsy is a brain disorder that appears in infancy or early childhood and permanently affects body movement and muscle coordination. The term “cerebral” refers to the brain, while “palsy” refers to problems with movement. The causes include damage to brain areas involved in muscle movement before, during, or shortly after birth.

Symptoms:

Symptoms vary widely from mild to severe and may include:

1. Delays in reaching motor milestones (such as rolling over, sitting, crawling)
2. Difficulty walking or sitting steadily
3. Variations in muscle tone (too floppy or too stiff)
4. Spasticity (stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes)
5. Ataxia (lack of muscle coordination)
6. Tremors or involuntary movements
7. Delays in speech development and difficulty speaking
8. Excessive drooling and swallowing problems
9. Favoring one side of the body
10. Neurological issues like seizures, intellectual disabilities, vision or hearing problems

The main types of cerebral palsy (CP) are spastic, dyskinetic (athetoid), ataxic, hypotonic, and mixed cerebral palsy. Each type differs primarily in the kind of movement and muscle control issues experienced, depending on the brain areas affected.

Spastic Cerebral Palsy:

1. Most common type (about 70-80% cases)
2. Causes stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes (spasticity)

Subtypes:

Spastic diplegia: mainly leg stiffness, scissor-like gait
Spastic hemiplegia: affects one side, mainly arm and hand
Spastic quadriplegia: affects all limbs, trunk, face; most severe

Symptoms: muscle stiffness, difficulty walking, delayed motor skills, possible seizures and intellectual disability in severe cases

Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy:

Characterized by uncontrolled, slow writhing or jerky movements
Muscle tone varies from tight to loose frequently
Affects hands, arms, legs, face, making sitting and walking difficult
Problems with speech, swallowing, drooling, fatigue from movement

Ataxic Cerebral Palsy:

Causes poor balance and coordination
Symptoms include shaky movements, unsteady gait, difficulty with precise tasks like writing
Low muscle tone often present

Hypotonic Cerebral Palsy:

Rare type with low muscle tone (floppy muscles)
Symptoms: poor head control, clumsiness, floppy limbs, slow reflexes

Mixed Cerebral Palsy:

Combination of symptoms from more than one type
Most common mix is spastic-dyskinetic CP

These differences arise from which brain areas are damaged and how it affects muscle tone and movement control.