Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy and Autism: Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) Next

Study finds 8.7% of cerebral palsy patients also diagnosed with autism, suggesting shared risk factors; MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging aid diagnosis

SANTA BARBARA , CA, UNITED STATES, January 6, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- “A recent study found that 8.7% of patients with cerebral palsy were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and some in the medical community suggest that cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorders, and attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have similar risk factors," states Greg Vigna, MD, JD, national neurological injury attorney.

Read “Prevalence and characteristics of autism spectrum disorders in children with cerebral palsy” published in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dmcn.13436

Dr. Greg Vigna, MD, JD, national neurological injury attorney, states, “Clearly, there is an overlap of diagnoses as autism spectrum disorders are more common in children with cerebral palsy. There are children with autism spectrum disorders who have had normal, conventional MRI’s who will have findings consistent with cerebral palsy (CP) when they get referred for a diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI).”

Dr. Vigna adds, “The co-occurrence between dyskinetic cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorder can be investigated with diffusion-weighted magnetic imaging and is becoming the standard care for diagnosis.”

How does imaging radiological testing assist with diagnosis of dyskinetic cerebral palsy according to Lee B. Reid, PhD, University of California at San Francisco?:

“The second most common motor type of CP is dyskinetic CP, which is estimated to occur in around 10% of the CP cases. The core clinical characteristics of dyskinetic CP include abnormal patterns of posture and/or mobility, accompanied by involuntary, uncontrolled, recurrent and, occasionally, stereotyped movements.

As 17% of individuals with dyskinetic CP present no visible alterations in conventional neuroimaging, it has been suggested that conventional structural neuroimaging assessments may not be the most optimal predictor of developmental outcomes.

Studies performing DWI analyses provide mounting evidence that microstructural white matter abnormalities are present in dyskinetic CP.

Tractography analyses indicate white matter integrity – as measured by FA (fractional anisotropy) and, particularly, MD (mean diffusivity index) – is reduced in the CST (corticospinal tract) and CSTC (cortico-striatal-thalamocortical) sensorimotor pathways in dyskinetic CP.

Read “Tractography of sensorimotor pathways in dyskinetic cerebral palsy: Association with motor function”: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/acn3.52174

Dr. Vigna concludes, “MRI negative dyskinetic cerebral palsy is not uncommon. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy has dystonia and choreoathetosis. Given the overlap in diagnoses between autism spectrum disorder and dyskinetic cerebral palsy, further diagnostic testing is important to rule out a birth injury.”

The Vigna Law Group assists families affected by hypoxic events via the Therapeutic Cooling/Birth Injury Help Desk. This website includes the web version of "The Mother’s Guide to Birth Injury," available for families that are faced with significant challenges caused by the negligence of others. “The Mother’s Guide to Birth Injury" was written by physicians, birth injury attorneys, and a Life Care Planner who is an expert in cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and birth injuries. This is a resource for families as they go down the path to recovery.

Click here to read "The Mother’s Guide to Birth Injury."

Dr. Vigna is a California and Washington DC lawyer who focuses on neurological injuries caused by medical negligence and is a birth injury attorney. Ben Martin Law Group, a national pharmaceutical injury law firm and birth injury lawyer in Dallas, Texas. The attorneys are product liability and medical malpractice attorneys, and they represent neurological injuries across the country.

Visit the The Vigna Law Group to learn more.

Greg Vigna, MD, JD
Vigna Law Group
+1 8178099023
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