Aetiology and Pathophysiology of Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

The accurate identification of the actual causes (aetiology) of cerebral palsy (CP) and understanding the causal pathways and the neuropathological correlations are critical to the development of both prevention strategies and a holistic classification of CP. The aetiology of CP is multifactorial with diverse and complex causal mechanisms. It has remained a challenge to identify all the non-progressive disturbances and causal pathways in CP despite pivotal contributions from recent advances in neuroimaging. The objectives of this chapter are to discuss the risk factors for CP, elucidate the causal pathways based on current perspectives and explain the pathophysiology of the clinical manifestations of an abnormally developing or damaged motor system. It is expected that at the end of this chapter, the reader should be able to comprehend the challenge in accurately identifying the actual causes of CP and understanding the complex causal pathways and explain the protean clinical features of CP.