A Child’s Brain Health

By Author: Jehangir Hospital
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We all dream and even hope that our children are perfect, stay perfect and certainly face no health challenges. It can come as a shock if a child is diagnosed with health problems but most definitely if they are diagnosed with a neurological disorder. Surprisingly, there are a number of neurological disorders that affect children. Some develop very little during a person’s lifetime, some are outgrown once the stage of childhood passes, and some are fatal.

Alexander disease is an ultimately fatal neurological disorder diagnosed in children; however, it advances gradually, and it is an extremely rare condition with approximately 500 cases having been documented. It is a mutated gene disorder that is characterized by physical, psychological or behavioral delays in development, progressive enlargement of the head, seizures and spasticity. Both hydrocephalus, commonly known as water on the brain, and dementia are also found in some cases of people with Alexander disease.

Krabbe disease is also rare, but it is not always fatal. Normally, diagnosis in infants is fatal by the age of 2. Yet, an infant is normal ...
... when they are born, and develop symptoms like blindness, deafness, seizures and slowing of mental and motor development among others between 3 and 6 months of age. However, when juvenile-onset or adult-onset Krabbe disease is diagnosed, it tends to progress more slowly and there is also a tendency to live considerably longer.

Leigh’s disease is yet another rare disorder that is inherited, and begins to show symptoms with a year from the birth of a child. When an infant has Leigh’s disease, their symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, trouble swallowing (medically known as dysphagia) all resulting in a failure to grow well. Overtime, Leigh’s disease impacts the muscular system with patients displaying hypotonia (known commonly as low muscle tone and strength), dystonia (with involuntary and sustained muscle contractions) and ataxia (generally a lack of control over movement). Sadly, respiratory failure often leads to the death of a person with Leigh’s disease.

Rett syndrome is more prevalent among female children with less likelihood of occurrence in male children. Due to the symptoms that are seen, the diagnosis of this disorder may take time as some of its symptoms like avoidance of eye contact and inconsolable crying may be confused with autism while other symptoms like gait/movement difficulties and grinding of teeth (medically known as bruxism) may be improperly thought of as cerebral palsy. At present, there is no cure for Rett syndrome; however, treatments are available for most of the symptoms. Also, there is research being done to find a cure for Rett syndrome.

These are only a few of the neurological disorders in children. To ensure that your child gets the best care, you will want to find a neurology hospital in Pune. At Jehangir Hospital, they have one of the best neurology hospitals in Pune. To learn more about this and all their health care specialties, visit them at www.jehangirhospital.com