A child with more severe microcephaly may also have a backward-sloping forehead. Genetic conditions that can cause microcephaly include: Cornelia de Lange syndrome slows your child’s growth inside and outside of the womb.

Mutations that result solely in microcephaly (primary microcephaly) exist but are less common.

Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit organization. Finding caring healthcare providers for your child’s medical team is important. Your child’s doctor will continue to measure your child’s head at routine well-baby exams during the first 2 years of life. Microcephaly may also be caused by certain complications during delivery. It means that certain cells in the brain didn’t move to areas where they should have and, as a result, the brain and skull didn’t grow to … Microcephaly can be caused by a variety of genetic and environmental factors. All rights reserved. Some children just have small heads, whose measurement falls as low as the first percentile. Anxiously awaiting your baby’s arrival? If you contract the virus that causes German measles, or rubella, within the first 3 months of pregnancy, your baby may develop severe problems. endstream endobj 2129 0 obj <>stream

Microcephaly may be genetic. h�b```"��B cb��L�PqE�0���'��.�mvacX� ]�ȁ�.����[ަ3�3�=`�a�Ͱ���@��ń!��C���͟��aC��������3oμ�9��ݙ3gޕ?�� �A�H�2��-������=,�Ԗ�~(rK��~X��)u�쭑Ux�1k��������� Except for surgery for craniosynostosis, there's generally no treatment that will enlarge your child's head or reverse complications of microcephaly.

Children diagnosed with this condition will have mild to severe complications. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products.

The spread of the Zika virus has pushed microcephaly to the forefront of the news, but the jury is still out on whether it's behind the recent spike of newborns with abnormally small heads and incomplete brain development. :), Microcephaly: What You Should Know About This Birth Defect. Boom JA. Frequent medical visits allow health-care providers to carefully track a child's growth and development, and make referrals to medical specialists as appropriate. It is a neurological disorder where the head circumference is less than it should normally be in an infant or a child. She explained to me that 1. his body grew in proportion to his head, so he didn't have a tiny head, he's just a small kid, and 2. he's still testing above grade level in school despite his microcephaly. DNA Repair (Amst).

If your child has microcephaly, you'll likely develop a whole network of health-care professionals, including a pediatrician, child neurologists, and speech, physical and occupational therapists. Microcephaly—by definition, "small head"—is a rare birth defect in which a child's head is much smaller than normal and the brain hasn't developed normally. Kids with microcephaly may require more frequent health care visits and counseling. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. Available for Android and iOS devices. This content does not have an Arabic version. "Developmental monitoring and screening during the first year of life is recommended for all children with microcephaly, including those with congenital Zika virus infection." Children with microcephaly often have developmental issues. Parents' head sizes also may be measured to determine whether small heads run in the family. This condition may be present when your baby is born. [3] Since brain growth is correlated with head growth, people with this disorder often have an intellectual disability, poor motor function, poor speech, abnormal facial features, seizures and dwarfism. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says a "very strong" link has been found between the virus and the birth defect, but more research is needed before it can be confirmed. For example, the Notch pathway genes regulate the balance between stem cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the stem cell layer known as the ventricular zone, and experimental mutations of many genes can cause microcephaly in mice,[58] similar to human microcephaly. [40][41][42] Several genes have been designated "MCPH" genes, after microcephalin (MCPH1), based on their role in brain size and primary microcephaly syndromes when mutated. There’s no cure for microcephaly. If you contract the cytomegalovirus while you’re pregnant, you can transmit it to your fetus through your placenta. Other young children are common carriers of this virus.

A child with more severe microcephaly may also have a backward-sloping forehead.

Her development is normal so far and she doesn't look syndromic.

2125 0 obj <> endobj [62][63] The severity of the condition may depend on the timing of infection during pregnancy. Find a chore your kid loves to do, and start a habit of wanting to help out that'll last a lifetime. Curious which baby names stole the show this year? A head size significantly smaller than that of other children of the same age and sex, Developmental delays, such as in speech and movement, Difficulties with coordination and balance.

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