premature baby born at 28 weeks with low birth weight 10 months now with spastic lower limbs MRI showed: White matter gliosis - PVL . Dilated ventricles with no signs of obstructive hydrocephalus. what does this mean? any signs he will develop cerebral palsy?
Hi. Thank you for posting your question. Cerebral Palsy is a long term result of any kind of damage to the developing brain. This damage could be either before/during or after delivery. Preterm birth with low birth weight is an independent risk factor developing cerebral palsy. The MRI changes that you have mentioned suggest damage to the brain which is commonly found in child Chat Doctor.  These changes do strongly suggest that your child has a significant risk of developing cerebral palsy. Apart from that spasticity also indicates that the damage has started manifesting itself. The main signs that would suggest that your child is likely to develop C.P. are delay in attaining developmental milestones as expected or his head size not increasing as expected, continuous thumb in fist position of his hand, scissoring of his legs when you lift him in the air, spasticity of limbs etc. If you find these signs I would suggest talking to your doctor regrading consulting a physiotherapist along with starting some stimulation therapy. Apart from these regular follow up and monitoring of your children development and progress would help you decide the next step. Do reply if you need any more guidance.