Etiology of cerebral palsy in children in rehabilitation centers, Mashad, Iran

Introduction: Cerebral palsy is defined as a movement disorder in the first years of life which is not progressive and is due to permanent cerebral damages. Most of these movement disorders are preventable. The aim of this study is investigation on the probable etiology of cerebral palsy of children in Mashhad, Iran. Methods: In this descriptive study, 5 rehabilitation centers in Mashhad city were selected randomly. All children under the age of 13 years old with cerebral palsy were investigated. 54 children with complete prenatal and postnatal history were physically examined. The results were presented by descriptive statistics. Results: Of 54 cases of cerebral palsy, 29 (54%) cases were male and 25 (46%) cases were female. 30 (55.6%) cases were spastic, 7 (13%) cases were extrapyramidal, 12 (22.2%) cases were flaccid and 5 (9.3%) cases with mixed type of cerebral palsy were observed. In 35 cases of spastic cerebral palsy, 18 (33.3%) cases were diplegic, 6 (11.1%) cases were quadriplegic, 9 (16.7%) cases were hemiplegic, 1 (1.9%) case was paraplegic, and 1 (1.9%) case was monoplegic cerebral palsy. 19 (35%) cases were flaccid or extrapyramidal types. Conclusion: This study showed that most causes of cerebral palsy in children are preventable