Question
The child next door was diagnosed with cerebral palsy shortly after birth. What might be the reasons for this diagnosis?
Answer
The causes of cerebral palsy are complex and can involve multiple factors. The most common are prenatal factors, including genetic and chromosomal disorders, congenital infections, brain malformations or developmental abnormalities, and fetal brain ischemia and hypoxia. Perinatal factors, which occur from the start of labor to one week after birth, may include brain edema, neonatal shock, intracranial hemorrhage, sepsis, or central nervous system infections, ischemic hypoxic encephalopathy, and others. These factors can also be the main causes of cerebral palsy in premature infants. Postnatal factors, such as central nervous system infections, cerebrovascular diseases, head injuries, and poisoning, can also lead to non-progressive brain damage. For the treatment of cerebral palsy, it is recommended to adopt traditional Chinese medicine as it has unique advantages in treating such brain diseases.