According to statistics, this disease is found in 1 case out of 15 thousand born children. Moreover, in children of different sexes, the frequency of identification of the disease is almost the same.
In newborns with microcephalus, the head circumference is usually no more than 27 centimeters, and the mass of the brain is not more than 250 grams. For comparison, the head circumference should be 35-37 centimeters, and the mass of the brain normally is about 400 grams. The mental retardation in this disease can manifest themselves from mild embiciousness to deep idiotia. A person with such a disease usually does not live longer than 30 years. Consequently, the average duration in such patients is 15 years.
Causes
The reasons for the occurrence of this pathology may be several. One of the most frequent causes is the inxication during the formation of the fetus. Incixation in turn can also have several reasons. Inxication factors include alcohol, drugs and During pregnancy. In addition, the cause of intoxicating the fetus may become an infectious disease that a woman suffered during pregnancy. In addition to intoxication, the development of microcephaly can cause the impact of radioactive irradiation, the toxic effects of certain drugs, as well as an unfavorable ecological situation.
In time and the reason for development, it is customary to distinguish between the primary and secondary microcephalus. Primary microcephaly is also called true or hereditary. It is considered a component of hereditary diseases with recessive, autosomal-recessive, adhesive type of inheritance. This form is found in 7-34% of cases of the disease.
Symptoms
The presence of some characteristic features depends on the type and cause caused by the disease. However, you can allocate some general signs of the disease. Such signs refers in particular the inconsistency of the child's head circumference to the current period of pregnancy. The size of the facial skull in patients with kids is much larger than the brain department.
Also, the common signs of the disease include narrow beveled foreheads, protruding abnormal arcs, low-ranked spread ears, sinphing in the first month of life, low muscle tone and explicit lag in mental and mental development.
Diagnostics
Microcephaly is considered an incurable disease. Therefore, the main direction of the treatment of microcephaly is to reduce the degree of manifestation of pathology. In addition, treatment is aimed at adapting a patient to social life. At the same time, treatment is usually a comprehensive. Otherwise it will not give any results. Worldwide In the treatment of microcephaly, it is customary to use such components as therapy with medicines, therapy with physiotherapy procedures and psychosocial rehabilitation.
Consider each direction a little Read more. So, treatment with medicines is mainly aimed at improving metabolism in the brain and in order to remove convulsive and spastic syndromes in a patient. If necessary, sedatives are applied. If there is an increased intracranial pressure, the drugs of the dehydration group are prescribed.
Concerning Physiotherapy, The microcephalius, such procedures are applied to the microwesphali, massage, water procedures and electric trains. The whole complex of physiotherapeutic procedures is aimed at reducing motor disorders and to increase muscle tone. If physiotherapeutic treatment methods are properly combined with drugs, then such comprehensive treatment usually shows a good result.
An equally important direction in the treatment of microcephaly is psychosocial rehabilitation, which is aimed at adapting a child in society. Such rehabilitation is usually carried out in special institutions intended for children with various lesions of the central nervous system. Most of the whole sick microcephalus needs help speech therapist and defectologist. The first will be engaged in the correction of systemic underdevelopment of speech, and the second will be engaged in education and teaching children with microcephalia.
The effectiveness of such treatment largely depends on the form of microcephaly. So, the children with the primary form of microcephalia are quite successful. Of course, it is unlikely to expect that such people will be able to become full members of society. Nevertheless, they will most likely have a simple life in society. Everything is much more complicated with patients with the secondary form of microcephalus. Most often children with this form of the disease are almost impossible to teach walk and even sit.
Active participation in the rehabilitation of children with microcephalius should take their parents. First of all, they must tune in for treatment. To do this, they need to be prepared for the fact that a positive result may have to wait for quite a long time. Perhaps he will never come, but this does not mean that it is not necessary to deal with the treatment of a child and let everything on samonek. Parents should devote as much time as possible to their child, they are obliged to engage in physical culture with their child and talk to him anymore. That is, the social adaptation of such children, first of all, contribute to their parents. As for the forecast, it is poured on social fitness and life expectancy.
Prevention
Prevention of microcephaly primarily consists in careful pregnancy planning. In addition, it is necessary to conduct a survey on Torch infection. Must be carried out prenatal fetal protection. If in the early stages of pregnancy, the fetal is revealed by microcephaly, then the question of the need for artificial abortion of pregnancy. In addition, to assess the potential risk upon subsequent pregnancy of families who already have children with microcephaly, our site recommends conducting medical and genetic advice.
