The term "encephalopathy" is used in medicine as a designation of various non-inflammatory forms of various pathological states of the brain and central nervous system. This pathology is not a separate disease, moreover, this diagnosis does not exist in the International Classification of Diseases, which is accepted throughout the world.
Species of pediatric encephalopathy
This disorder is mainly observed in childhood, where timely adequate treatment helps to forget for ever his symptoms. With encephalopathy, the brain is damaged, which is a consequence of the death of nerve cells, as a cause of impaired working capacity of blood supply and oxygen deficiency of brain tissue.
Classify encephalopathy in two forms:
1) Congenital form that occurs during childbirth as a result of intracranial trauma, with abnormal development of the brain, with imbalance of metabolic processes at the gene level, etc. This group is mainly perinatal encephalopathy, which is diagnosed in most of the newborns during the first 5-7 days of life.
2) Acquired form, which consists of several varieties of the disease, where the provoking factors are a variety of different causes. This group includes such species as toxic, post-traumatic, metabolic, radiation, vascular encephalopathy.
Residual
This type of brain damage has a latent flow and does not appear for a long time. Due to this characteristic course of the residual form, its diagnosis is much more difficult. Most often it persistently manifests itself as a neurological deficit, which is the result of the following provoking factors:
- viral diseases;
- infectious diseases;
- instability of blood pressure;
- traumatic brain injury.
Clinic for the course of residual encephalopathy are:
- headaches of a persistent nature;
- pyramidal reflex reflex form;
- vegetovascular dystonia;
- paresis;
- syncope;
- mental retardation;
- fatigue;
- with a serious degree of ailment possible some forms of mental disorders.
The danger of this form of pathological impairment is that the initial symptoms may appear in early childhood, but the disease itself can only come to light after years.
Learn the differences in the clinical manifestation of brain encephalopathy in adults and the elderly from children.
Even in a healthy child, in the event of a fall or severe braking, problems with the brain may occur. For example, you may experience symptoms of concussion. What in this situation to undertake read here.
Epileptic
This type of brain disorder includes pathologies that are characterized by the presence in patients epilepsy of severe brain dysfunction of permanent form. It is manifested by disorders of behavior and psyche, as well as neuropsychological disorders without accompanying epileptic seizures.
There are two types of epileptic form of encephalopathy:
1 of type are children with epileptic syndrome who have disorders of cognitive, speech, intelligence and many other cerebral functions of progressive form.
2 types are children with mental, cognitive, behavioral and social disorders in the absence of epileptic seizures.
Hypoxic-ischemic
This pathological condition is quite common. The causative factor of the hypoxic-ischemic type is the absence or deficiency in the supply of the necessary amount of oxygen to the brain, which develops due to the following phenomena:
- hypotension - blood pressure readings lower than normal by 20%;
- respiratory failure.
Since the identification of the prevailing provoking state is impossible, hence the duality of this violation. Also additional reasons may be:
- myocardial infarction;
- cardiac arrest of various origins;
- hemorrhage;
- traumatic and infectious shock;
- pathological conditions, as a result of paralysis of the muscles of the respiratory system and violations of the regulation of the respiratory process of the central nervous system;
- asphyxiation and others.
Post-hypoxic
This kind of brain damage is a complex of neurological and mental disorders that arise as a consequence of the effects of hypoxia of varying degrees and etiology. In medical practice, the following clinical forms occur:
- primary diffuse;
- secondary circulatory;
- secondary toxic;
- secondary hypoxia and local ischemia.
Modern medicine defines the syndrome of posthypoxic encephalopathy as the most complex set of nervous and mental brain abnormalities that manifests itself as a result of the following phenomena:
- organic lesions of varying intensity and duration due to hypoxia;
- terminal states that have partial or complete circulatory arrest.
Other types of encephalopathy
Over the past decades, due to the fact that the notion of causative factors in the development of CNS pathologies in children has expanded, it has become much more difficult to establish the dominant provoking phenomenon among the set. Moreover, the cause in many cases remains unspecified, hence the name of the unspecified encephalopathy is obtained.
The unspecified form of this pathology is more common in newborns and young children, since it is at birth that a combination of many factors lies where the leading one among them is usually practically impossible to determine. In such cases, specialists indicate a few etiological signs in the diagnosis at once.
We will also consider one of the most serious consequences of the result of brain damage or respiratory encephalopathy - encephalopathy in children with bronchial asthma. Symptoms of this type of pathology are:
- brain function disorder;
- change in the psyche, sensitivity;
- with neglected forms may have an inadequate perception of the environment.
Symptoms of encephalopathy in children by age
Encephalopathy is diagnosed regardless of the patient's age, but the symptomatology is specific in nature, depending on this criterion. If an adult has any disease that has formed a clinical course, then in children the symptomatology is characterized by a complex of several features at once.
In children before the year, the symptoms of encephalopathy are as follows:
- restless and moody behavior;
- prolonged and unreasonable tearfulness;
- inadequate responses to light and sound changes;
- head tilting;
- frequent regurgitation;
- uneven heartbeat;
- disturbed sucking reflex;
- restless sleep;
- muscle tone.
In preschool children, the clinical course has a pronounced character and is manifested by the following manifestations:
- sleep disturbance;
- intense headaches;
- occurrence of syncope;
- asymmetry of tendon reflexes;
- muscle tone;
- instability of the psyche - insecurity, dramatic deterioration of memory, difficulties in changing activities;
- fast fatigue.
In children of school age, the most frequent signs of encephalopathy are:
- disorders of consciousness and memory;
- depressive states;
- lack of initiative;
- dizziness accompanied by headaches.
Patients with a similar diagnosis are lagging behind in school performance, they are irritable, absentminded, difficulties in thinking processes are manifested, and the range of interests is narrowing.
Speech mutism - complete silence - in children is confused with other diseases: schizophrenia, mental retardation and others, or consider that the child is lazy or does not want to talk. Learn the symptoms of mutism in children to take adequate measures.
If problems with the brain in a newborn have arisen in consequence of a lack of oxygen in childbirth, then they diagnose cerebral ischemia. What treatment should be given to newborns is described in this article.
What if the child is being written at a sufficiently old age? Read more - http: //gidmed.com/ bolezni-nevrologii /parkinsona/ nejrogennyj-mochevoj-puzyr.html. A neurogenic bladder can be diagnosed not only in babies, but also in adolescents and even adults.
Diagnosis
The definition of this pathological condition is carried out by several tests:
- study of the psychological state;
- study of the coordination of motor activity;
- study of memory status.
To determine the root cause of the disease, a number of laboratory measures are prescribed:
- a general blood test;
- measurement of blood pressure;
- carrying out metabolic tests;
- analysis for the presence of autoantibodies.
To differentiate encephalopathy from other pathologies, the following studies are performed:
- tomography of the brain;
- ultrasound dopplerography;
- encephalogram;
- EEG.
The list of diagnostic measures is very diverse and requires an individual approach depending on the age, condition and presence of the patient's clinical illness.
Treatment
The package of treatment measures includes the following areas:
- Effects on improving the efficiency of blood circulation in the brain.
- Normalization of intracranial pressure.
- Cumulation of conditions causing convulsions.
The principle of treatment involves the use of the following manipulations depending on the degree of complication:
- hemodialysis;
- hemoperfusion;
- parenteral nutrition;
- ventilation;
- physiotherapy;
- reflexotherapy;
- breathing exercises.
Medical therapy to improve the flow of brain metabolism includes the following drugs:
- nootropics - pyracetam, pyriditol;
- amino acids - cerebrolysin, glutamic acid, methionine;
- lipotropes - Essential;
- Vitaminotherapy - Groups B, A, E.
Traditional treatment measures:
- vasodilators( drotaverin, nicotinic acid, papaverine);
- sedatives( glycine, elenium, valerian);
- painkillers and with dizziness( analgesics, bellaspon).
In the video, the pediatrician tells about perinatal encephalopathy( PEP), describes possible methods of treatment and the consequences of the disease, helps to determine the need for the treatment of the baby:
Massage with pediatric encephalopathy
Of course, it is always easier to give medication than to perform daily massage procedures. However, the high efficiency of the latter method was noted by many specialists involved in the treatment of children with encephalopathy. Explanation of this fact is very simple - the injured brain of the child, receiving beneficial and correct "information" for massage, gymnastic exercises or swimming, is restored many times faster.
If your child is diagnosed with cerebral encephalopathy, it is worthwhile to connect all methods of struggle and hope for the best, because the children's organism is able to self-regulate.