ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: Cerebral palsy causes a number of diagnostic, therapeutic, organisational, and social problems. A timely diagnosis reduces the unfavourable effects of the disease and the resulting disability of the children. AIM: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of the neonatal muscle hypotonia as an early indicative symptom of cerebral palsy (CP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-two children with clinical and anamnestic data of muscle hypotonia (from the neonatal period to the age of 3) were enrolled in the study. An active and dynamic follow-up including specialized neurologic examinations was realised. RESULTS: The etiologic factors of utmost importance for CP were prematurity (40.5%) and perinatal asphyxia (26.2%). On the background of differently expressed muscle hypotonia, persisting from the neonatal period, the abnormalities in the psychoneurologic development during the first year after birth were characterized mainly by psychoemotional retardation. Motor deficit was marked from the 1st through 2nd year, and speech disorders appeared after the age of 2. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of partial or generalized muscle hypotonia in the neonatal age and its persisting in the subsequent stages of the child's life is an early indicative symptom of CP. The diagnosis is possible within the first two years of life, especially in children with perinatal pathology, by dynamic neurologic follow-up and prompt evaluation of the abnormalities in the psychoneurologic development.