Microcephaly – What it is, Causes and Treatment
What is Microcephaly: Microcephaly is a rare neurological condition in which a child’s head and brain are significantly smaller than those of others of the same age and sex. Microcephaly is usually diagnosed early in life and is a result of the brain not growing enough during pregnancy or after birth. Children with Microcephaly have developmental problems. There is no definitive cure for Microcephaly , but treatments carried out from an early age improve development and quality of life. Microcephaly can be caused by a number of genetic or environmental problems.
Causes of Microcephaly: Causes of Microcephaly can include genetic or infectious diseases, exposure to toxic substances, or malnutrition. Some situations that can cause microcephaly can be:
- Malformations of the central nervous system;
- Decreased oxygen to the fetal brain : Some complications in pregnancy or childbirth can decrease oxygenation to the baby’s brain .
- Exposure to drugs, alcohol and certain chemicals in pregnancy ;
- Severe malnutrition during pregnancy;
- Maternal phenylketonuria;
- Congenital rubella in pregnancy ;
- Congenital toxoplasmosis in pregnancy ;
- Congenital cytomegalovirus infection.
Treatment for Microcephaly: The treatment of Microcephaly does not cure the disease, but it helps to reduce the consequences on the child’s mental development.
One of the possibilities of treatment is to have surgery to slightly separate the bones from the skull, in the first 2 months of life, to avoid compression of the brain that prevents its growth.
When in addition to Microcephaly the child has hydrocephalus, which is the presence of fluid inside the brain , there is also the possibility of placing a drain to control this fluid.
In addition, it may be necessary to use medications that help the child’s daily life, which work by decreasing muscle spasms and improving muscle tension. Physiotherapy is indicated and can help in physical and mental development and so the more stimulation within physiotherapy the child has, the better the results will be. Thus, it is recommended to do as many physical therapy sessions per week as possible.
In addition, Botox injections into certain muscles in the arms or legs can be helpful in decreasing involuntary muscle contraction and improving daily baby care and even physical therapy sessions. Understand how Botox works and why it is indicated in case of Microcephaly here.
The doctor who accompanies the patients with Microcephaly are the pediatrician and the neurologist, but other health professionals are also needed, such as a psychologist, dentist, occupational therapist and speech therapist.