Somatosensory and MRI findings in children with cerebral palsy: correlations and discrepancies with clinical picture

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine if there is any association between the findings of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and the severity of motor deficits and cognitive impairments in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). The present study included 15 children with spastic diplegia and five children with spastic hemiplegic, and 42 healthy children as controls. SEPs were recorded in the CP children and compared with healthy controls. All MRI scans were obtained using a 1.5 T MRI scanner. A significant difference of N13-N20 conductions (SEPs) was found between the subjects with CP and the control group. SEPs were positively correlated with mental retardation in CP children. The brain lesions in MRI showed a significant correlation with the CP severity scores and mental retardation.