All parents want to deliver the very best for their children. Loving parents will ensure a healthy pregnancy and a safe delivery. Health services play a great role in ensuring both mother and child are in good condition in these events. However, there are certain diseases or conditions that may cause the baby to be sick or be having health problems even when the baby has just been born into this world. One of the conditions is porencephaly. We will learn more about porencephaly in this article.
Porencephaly is a term that is used to describe fluid-filled cavities in the brain tissue, specifically between the ventricles. Porencephaly is considered a rare disease that affects the central nervous system, it is affected by the cerebrospinal fluid-filled cavity in the brain. Porencephaly is one of the most frequent causes for infantile cerebral palsy. In such conditions, the brain changes result from compromised blood flow in the late pregnancy or in early life as the child is born or baby in the womb exposed to toxins or infections. In general, porencephaly is estimated to affect around 3 live births out of 100 000 and very rarely reported in adults.
Do you know what cerebrospinal fluid is? It is the clear fluid that continually circulates through the brain’s cavities known as the ventricle and around the brain surface. It is made of tissue known as the choroid plexus that is located in the ventricle. Cerebrospinal fluid functions to provide nutrients to the brain and spinal cord apart from being the cushion to protect these structures from injury or insult.
Porencephaly may occur as familial or sporadic. Familial porencephaly is related to the COL4A1 disorders. It is often characterised by the paralysis affecting one side of the body as the fluid-filled cysts develop in the brain during fetal development or soon after birth. The cyst itself often resulted from bleeding inside the brain. Sporadic porencephaly can have many causes such as infection before or after birth, trauma, maternal disease, maternal diabetes or maternal use of substances including alcohol. Symptoms and severity of sporadic porencephaly is based on size and exact location where the cyst is. Sporadic porencephaly is caused by damages to the brain resulting from the formation of fluid-filled cysts on the brain surface caused by the many causes.
Another way of classification of porencephaly is whether it is congenital or acquired. Congenital porencephaly is the result from blood vessel injury during pregnancy that leads to brain damage such as cerebral ischemia. Congenital porencephaly may also be caused by injury from infection during pregnancy such as cytomegalovirus. Alcohol taken during pregnancy also causes changes to the brain formation leading to congenital porencephaly. Acquired porencephaly typically occurs from injury later in life such as from infection, surgery, trauma or ischemia. Acquired porencephaly often resulted in brain lesions as consequences of destructive conditions. Congenital porencephaly is also known as true porencephaly whereas pseudo porencephaly is another name for acquired porencephaly.
Symptoms for porencephaly are numerous. One may or may not have symptoms. Symptoms of porencephaly can be mild to the extent that they remain undiagnosed. Severe symptoms are often diagnosed after birth. Common symptoms are weakness in one side of the body (hemiparesis) and seizure (epilepsy). Cognitive deficits can be mild with learning disability to the severe one often as mental retardation. Other symptoms include abnormal head size, stiff muscle, slow growth, motor delay and speech impairments. Due to the fact that symptoms can be wide and array, symptoms can be very different from one person to another. Symptoms often result from the cyst that affects the normal brain function.
Parents with child porencephaly might wonder if there is a cure for the condition. Unfortunately, there is no cure for porencephaly. Even so, there are still many treatments and support in helping the child to live. Treatment such as physical therapy and speech therapy can help patients. Children with learning difficulties may benefit from educational plans or special education programs. Medication is often used in treating seizure and muscle stiffness. Surgery such as shunt is recommended to treat hydrocephalus (buildup fluid in the ventricles). It is important for a child with porencephaly to get early management or intervention as it can help the child to have a better life.
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It can be concluded that porencephaly is a rare condition characterised by a defect or cavity in the brain that affects the ventricle inside the brain. Affected ventricles contribute to the affected cerebrospinal fluid flow. There are many causes for porencephaly but ironically in many cases, the underlying cause cannot be found. Familial porencephaly is caused by the gene mutation and can be inherited. Porencephaly can be diagnosed prenatally with ultrasound when there are fluid-filled spaces or with the help of MRI. Diagnosis can also be made after birth when there are symptoms. Outcome for porencephaly depends on the size and location of the lesion. There is no cure yet for this rare condition of porencephaly.
