Neuroimaging Pathology in Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Neuroimaging in cerebral palsy, although not a prerequisite for diagnosis, provides vital insights in elucidating the etiopathogenesis and has widespread implications in treatment, prognosis, and planning early interventions to curtail complications. Neuroimaging is abnormal in a majority of children with cerebral palsy. Magnetic resonance imaging, due to its superior soft tissue differentiation, multiplanar capabilities, and prospect for functional imaging, is uniquely qualified for assessment of fetal and postnatal brain. Cranial ultrasound and computed tomography, although inferior in soft tissue resolution, have a potential role in emergent situations. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is one of the commonly identified causes of cerebral palsy with other etiologies being congenital infections of central nervous system such as Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and toxoplasmosis and congenital malformations.