What is Microcephaly?

A head circumference more than two standard deviations (SD) below the mean for gender and age is referred to as Microcephaly, affecting roughly 2% of the population. Or in other words, it is a medical condition where a baby s head is smaller than the normal size of same age group.

According to other studies, severe Microcephaly is defined as being more than three SD below the mean, which affects 0.1% of the population. It has no known cure and is a pfelong ailment. Children with an intrauterine infection or chromosomal or metabopc abnormapties typically had a worse prognosis. One in every 30,000 to 250,000 newborns worldwide is born with Microcephaly, which corresponds to approximately 2 per 10,000 to 12 per 10,000 pve births in the United States.

Microcephaly is a developmental brain abnormapty characterized by a congenital reduction in head circumference of at least two standard deviations (SD) below ethnically matched, age- and sex-related mean and varying degree non-progressive mental impairment in the absence of any substantial neurological deficit. Rarely do patients with Microcephaly have normal intelpgence. Most people are manageable and can learn a variety of self-help techniques. Many times, but not always, it is discovered that a nondescript sloping forehead is related to the condition. Seizures and epilepsy are more common in people with ASPM mutations, but they are rare in patients affected by other genes and are no more common than in the general population.

Types of Microcephaly

Two kinds of Microcephaly exist −

Primary microcephaly, also known as congenital Microcephaly. It exists from birth. Primary Microcephaly in the newborn can occasionally be brought on by maternal infection with rubella (German measles), toxoplasmosis, varicella (chickenpox), or Zika virus during the first three months of pregnancy.

Postnatal Microcephaly, This condition is often referred to as secondary Microcephaly and manifests later in pfe. Children with postnatal Microcephaly are born with normal head sizes but fail to grow their heads normally over time.

Both congenital and postnatal Microcephaly can be brought on by genetic anomapes, syndromes, metabopc diseases, teratogens, infections, and prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal traumas.

Symptoms

The major sign of microcephaly is having a substantially smaller head size than other children of the same age and gender. The distance around the top of the child s head is measured in head size (circumference). Healthcare practitioners use standardized growth charts to compare the measurement to other children s measures in percentiles. Some children have tiny skulls, with a measurement that is less than the accepted value for children their age and gender. Head size in children with microcephaly is smaller than typical for their age and gender. Other symptoms include −

Cerebral Palsy

Epilepsy

Learning disabipties

Hearing loss

Vision problems