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Clinically considered a form of dyskinetic cerebral palsy, athetoid cerebral affects approximately 10-20% of cerebral palsy patients. Athetoid cerebral palsy causes fluctuations in muscle tone throughout the entire body. Individuals afflicted with this condition sometimes make unintentional or uncontrolled movements. These movements can be either slow and contorting or fast and erratic. Because controlling one's body can be difficult for children with athetoid cerebral palsy, they may have a hard time learning to walk or sit. Facial muscles and the tongue can also be affected, resulting in problems with eating and talking. Athetoid CP usually affects the entire body, and, due to the near constant change in muscle tone, may also be called hypotonic quadriplegia.
The dyskinetic cerebral palsy set of disorders consists of several different forms, depending on the type of movement and or posture displayed by the affected individual:
- Athetosis
- Tremor
- Dystonia
- Choreiform
- Rigidity
As with all types of cerebral palsy, athetoid CP is acquired shortly before, during, or after birth, and should not be confused with degenerative adult onset diseases.
The treatment for cerebral palsy is largely dependent on the type displayed and the parts of the body affected.
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