Microcephaly may be congenital (present at birth) or it may become evident in the first few years of life when the head fails to grow while the face continues to develop at a normal rate, producing a child with a small head, a relatively large face, and receding forehead.
Microcephaly is often equated with developmental delay and mental retardation.
On the average, life expectancy for individuals with microcephaly is reduced and the prognosis for normal brain function is poor.
Microcephaly is a condition that can be present at birth in which the baby's head is much smaller than normal for an infant of that age and gender.
Microcephaly is either caused by exposure to harmful substances during the fetal development, or it may be associated with genetic problems or syndromes that may have a tendency to run in families.
Microcephaly may be diagnosed before birth by prenatal ultrasound, a diagnostic imaging technique which uses high-frequency sound waves and a computer to create images of blood vessels, tissues, and organs.
Microcephaly is a medical condition in which the circumference of the head is smaller than normal because the brain has not developed properly or has stopped growing.
Babies may also be born with microcephaly if, during pregnancy, their mother abused drugs or alcohol, became infected with a cytomegalovirus, rubella (German measles), or varicella (chicken pox) virus, was exposed to certain toxic chemicals, or had untreated phenylketonuria (PKU).
Children with microcephaly and developmental delays are usually evaluated by a pediatric neurologist and followed by a medical management team.
Microcephaly is a rare neurological disorder in which the circumference of an infant's head is significantly smaller than average for children of the same age and sex.
Microcephaly may be present at birth (congenital) or develop later in infancy.
Microcephaly is a head circumference that is significantly below the 1st percentile.
Microcephaly describes a head size (measured as the distance around the top of the head) significantly below normal for a person's age and sex, based on standardized charts.
Microcephaly most often occurs because of failure of the brain to grow at a normal rate.
Microcephaly is often diagnosed at birth or during routine well-baby examinations when the infant's height, weight, and head circumference is measured.
Microcephaly may be caused by many different conditions that may be genetic or entirely non-genetic in origin.
Of these three different inheritance mechanisms, autosomal recessive Microcephaly is probably the most common and this condition is most often characterized by microcephaly that is present at birth and learning disability that is non-progressive.
It is unusual for genetic Microcephaly to be diagnosed by ultrasound scan in early pregnancy but a reduction in fetal brain growth may be discovered by scans undertaken during in the last few months of pregnancy.
www.cafamily.org.uk /Direct/m27.html (866 words)
Microcephaly Support Group » The M.S.G (contact info) (via CobWeb/3.1 planetlab2.netlab.uky.edu)(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
The Microcephaly Support Group (MSG) was set up in 1992 by a group of parents whose children were all affected by microcephaly.
It is the national organization which provides support and contact between families with first hand experience of microcephaly.
The Microcephaly Support Group can be contacted by the following, please remember that with email enquiries we can only answer emails from the UK as we are such a small group of parents.
Cerebral Palsy Lawyers-100% FREE CEREBRAL PALSY INFO PACK,Microcephaly for Cerebral Palsy Birth Defects (via CobWeb/3.1 ...(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
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