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HEMIPLEGIA
IN CHILDREN
WHAT IS HEMIPLEGIA?
HEMIPLEGIA is a type of CEREBRAL PALSY that results from damage to the parts of the brain that control muscle movements. This damage may occur before, during or shortly after birth.
The term HEMIPLEGIA means that the paralysis is on one side of the body. A similar medical term, HEMIPARESIS, means a weakness on one side of the body. In children with hemiplegia, the paralysis in the body occurs on the side opposite the affected part of the brain. For example, if the left side of the child's brain is injured, then the paralysis will be on the right side of the child's body.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF HEMIPLEGIA IN A CHILD?
The symptoms of SPASTIC HEMIPLEGIC CEREBRAL PALSY may differ from child to child and over time. Symptoms may include:
-
difficulty with fine motor tasks like writing or using scissors
-
difficulty with walking and balance
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stiffness and weakness in muscles on one side of the body
-
seizures
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delay in reaching expected developmental milestones such as rolling over, sitting up, crawling, or smiling
-
about one fourth of children with spastic hemiplegia may have an IQ below 70
IS HEMIPLEGIA A PROGRESSIVE CONDITION?
No hemiplegia is not a progressive condition, nor is it a disease. As children experience growth spurts, they may have more problems with muscle spasticity, but this does not mean that the initial injury has gotten worse.
ARE THERE TREATMENTS FOR CHILDREN WITH HEMIPLEGIA?
Children with hemiplegia cannot be "cured", but therapies can help with some of the symptoms. Medication can be prescribed for seizures. Orthotics, braces, and splints may help with spasticity and gait (walking).
For more
detailed information, read Hemiplegia
in Children by John Lynch, DO, NINDS CAUSES
OF HEMIPLEGIA IN CHILDREN
Cerebrovascular
Accident (CVA) or stroke Head
Trauma: brain contusion, subdural hematoma
or epidural hematoma Brain tumor (Primary or metastatic disease) Infection: brain abscess, encephalitis, subdural empyema
or meningitis Vasculitis Demyelinating
disease: multiple
sclerosis, acute necrotizing myelitis Hereditary disease: leukodystrophies Congenital or perinatal injury Hemi-Kids
Support Group for parents of children with Hemiplegia
Hemiplegia/Hemiparesis
discussion of gait by Molson Medical Informatics
Congenital
Hemiplegia book published 2001; edited by Brian Neville, Robert
Goodman
Control
of Functional Movement in Hemiplegia
Motor
Unit Firing Patterns in Hemiplegia
Supporting
young adults with hemiplegia: services and costs
Fast adjustments of ongoing movements in hemiparetic cerebral palsy
Early
prognostic indicators of outcome in infants with neonatal cerebral
infarction: a clinical, electroencephalogram, and magnetic resonance
imaging study. Jan. 1999. London.
Early MRI and EEG can help to identify the infants with cerebral
infarction who are likely to develop hemiplegia.
Hemiparetic cerebral palsy: etiological risk factors and neuroimaging
journal article 2001
Visual function in children with hemiplegia in the first years of life
2001
The relationship between infections and adverse pregnancy outcomes: an overview,
Dec. 2001
Workshop on Classification and Definition of Disorders Causing Hypertonia in
Childhood
Premotor cortex is involved in restoration of gait in stroke,
Aug. 2002
Intact motor imagery in chronic upper limb
hemiplegics: evidence for activity-independent action representations,
Aug. 2002
Comparing tests of tactile
sensibility: aspects relevant to testing children with spastic hemiplegia.
Sept. 2002. Sweden.
Neuroimaging fails to identify asymptomatic carriers of familial porencephaly.
Belgium. October 2002 Hand
function in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy: prospective
follow-up and functional outcome in adolescence. Italy. Feb. 2003
thrombosis: embolism or hemorrhage
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The information contained in this Children's Hemiplegia and Stroke
Association (CHASA) Web site is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment, and
CHASA recommends consultation with your doctor or health care professional.