A Few Facts About Stroke in Infants, Children, Young Adults and Before Birth

Stroke can occur before birth, in infants, children and young adults.
Risk of stroke is highest in the first year of life and peaks during the perinatal period (a few weeks before and after birth).
Perinatal arterial ischemic stroke is the most common form of stroke in children.
Perinatal stroke occurs in 1 in every 2800 live births. This incidence is likely to be an underestimate.

You may also hear terms like fetal stroke, prenatal stroke, and in utero stroke. Your doctor may refer to a stroke that occurs between birth and one month of age as a neonatal stroke.

Sixty percent of infants with a stroke diagnosis have specific symptoms such as recurrent focal seizures in the first three days of life. Their stroke will most likely be identified early.

However, forty percent of infants with early stroke do not have symptoms and the stroke is recognized later with delays in movement, development, learning, or seizures.

The risk of stroke from birth through age 19 is approximately 5 per 100,000 children.

Perinatal, neonatal, infant and childhood stroke are some of the most common causes of hemiplegia, hemiparesis, or hemiplegic cerebral palsy in children. Sixty percent of the children who survive a stroke will have permanent neurological problems.


We’re sad to report that stroke is one of the top 10 causes of death in children between the ages of 1 and 19 years.

Risk Factors for Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy occurs in approximately 1.2 to 2.5 of every 1,000 infants born alive. Many factors—such as premature birth and serious illnesses—increase an infant’s risk of developing cerebral palsy. In some cases, infants who are born at normal weights and experience no known brain injuries still develop cerebral palsy.
Premature Birth and Low Birth Weight
A normal pregnancy lasts 40 weeks. Babies born before 37 weeks have a greater risk of developing cerebral palsy. The risk increases the earlier a baby is born. Twins and other multiple birth siblings are at particular risk because they tend to be born earlier and at lower birth weights.
The outlook for infants born prematurely or at low birth weights has improved considerably in recent years. Today, many premature infants survive—and new treatments have lowered the incidence of cerebral palsy among them to between 30 and 40 percent.
Serious Illness, Stroke or Infection in Baby
Infants who experience serious illnesses, strokes or seizures around the time of birth are at greater risk of developing cerebral palsy. Such illnesses might include:
Severe jaundice (kernicterus)
Seizures during the 48 hours after birth
Infections of the brain, such as meningitis or encephalitis
Strokes caused by broken or clogged blood vessels or abnormal blood cells
Serious Illness, Stroke or Infection in Mother
Cerebral palsy is more common in children whose mothers:
Experience certain viral and bacterial infections and/or high fevers during pregnancy
Have coagulation (clotting) disorders or experience blood clots during pregnancy
Receive excessive exposure to harmful substances during pregnancy
Have thyroid problems, seizure disorders or other serious health concerns
Pregnancy and Birth Complications
Complications of pregnancy and birth—including inadequate nourishment through the placenta or a lack of oxygen during labor and birth—are associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy also is more common when babies and mothers have incompatible blood types (the mother is Rh positive and the baby is Rh negative, or vice versa).
Genetic and Developmental Problems

Some cases of cerebral palsy are genetic. Genetic conditions can affect development of the brain or other vital organs, such as the heart. Infants with genetic and developmental problems are more likely to develop cerebral palsy.

Cerebral Palsy :Diet for Cerebral Palsy

The simple act of feeding can be really tough for a child with cerebral palsy, and is very likely a handful for you, too. In this article we discuss foods and nutrients you need to include in your little one’s diet, and show you how to prepare the meals so they’re easier to swallow.

Cerebral palsy severely affects the use and coordination of muscles, including those we require for eating and drinking. That’s why children with the condition often have a hard time chewing and swallowing their food. Add difficulties when using utensils, and it’s suddenly clear why feeding time represents an uphill battle for most kids with CP. As a consequence, many end up underweight and short of vital nutrients necessary for their physical growth, development and overall well-being.
To avoid malnourishment, it's of key importance your child gets an optimal daily amount of calories brimming with vitamins and minerals. In this piece we show you what types of foods are essential for your kid, as well as how to prepare them so they can be chewed and digested more easily:
Pack in the fruits, vegetables and whole grains
Fruits, vegetables and whole grains should be the cornerstone of every diet, but they are absolutely indispensable for everyone suffering from cerebral palsy. Why? Vitamins and minerals found in these high-fiber foods are not only instrumental for proper brain growth and development, but they’re also easily digestible and quickly turn into energy essential for exercising and muscle development. What’s more, such foods are extremely rich in fiber which helps to move stool through the colon.
Whole-grain pasta or rice topped with a vegetable sauce and a healthy source of protein on the side makes for a tasty and all-round meal which isn't costly and requires little time to prepare.
Get the liquids in
If your child struggles with chewing and swallowing food, it’s a good idea to get the bulk of his or hers recommended daily calorie intake by introducing more liquid foods to the diet.
Similarly, it’s best to avoid anything that’s too sticky or textured. Skip out on foods such as toffee candy, peanut brittle, sinewy meats, and any others that might be tough and time-consuming to chew.
You'll find that blending a certain food often makes it much easier to process. Smoothies, creamy soups, porridges, puddings, and rich stews should be the foundation of your child's diet, as they are packed with the necessary nutrients and easy to swallow down.
Constipation is a common issue with those affected by cerebral palsy, so drinking enough water and other fluids like fresh-pressed fruit juices and herbal teas is extremely important. Staying properly hydrated is beneficial for better digestion and will help your kid maintain higher energy levels.
Fruit smoothies make the perfect breakfast Healthy smoothies are a fun and easy way to get an ample amount of calories in your child's diet. They are also high in water and fiber, which will help with constipation and soothe other digestion problems.
Start the day off with a fruit smoothie breakfast, just make sure it's calorie-dense. We recommend sweet and starchy fruits like bananas and dates as a base, which you can then mix up with any other fruits or vegetables your kid likes best. The combinations are virtually endless and you can experiment until you find a few recipes that hit the sweet spot.
If you're always struggling to sneak in leafy greens in your kid's diet, spinach and kale are virtually impossible to taste if you blend them in a sweet fruit smoothie. A smart trick to boost the calorie count is to add a spoonful or two of a healthy fat source, such as coconut milk or any nut butter (it’s always better to go for the creamy instead of the crunchy version).
Practice chewing
It's good to rely on liquid foods in order to get the main share of calories in, but make sure your kid still develops his or hers masticatory reflex with smaller snacks in between meals. Try dried fruits like apricots or a piece of bread. If you think that’s too difficult for your child, CaringForCerebralPalsy suggests a smart technique: “allow them to chew on (but not swallow) a piece of fruit securely wrapped in a piece of muslin which you can control”.
Know what to avoid

If your child gets acid reflux, citrusy foods, spicy foods, garlic, and onion should get a miss. Avoid carbonated soft drinks, processed fast foods and any other foods of poor nutritional value that are difficult to digest.

Atonic Seizure : Definition , Risk , Diagnosed and Treat

What is an atonic seizure?
Muscle "tone" is the muscle's normal tension. "Atonic" (a-TON-ik) means "without tone," so in an atonic seizure, muscles suddenly lose strength. The eyelids may droop, the head may nod, and the person may drop things and often falls to the ground. These seizures are also called "drop attacks" or "drop seizures." The person usually remains conscious. These seizures typically last less than 15 seconds. They often start in childhood yet last into adulthood. Many people with atonic seizures are injured when they fall, so they may choose to use protection such as a helmet.
Another name for this type of seizure is "akinetic" (a-kin-ET-ik), which means "without movement."
Who is at risk for atonic seizures?
Atonic seizures usually begin in childhood and are often seen in syndromes like Lennox Gastaut syndrome.
What’s it like to have an atonic seizure?
In an atonic seizure, the person's body will get limp. If sitting, their head or upper body may slump over. If standing, the person many fall limply to the ground. People who have seizures that cause them to fall rigidly (like a tree trunk) often have tonic seizures (involving sudden muscle contraction) rather than atonic seizures.
What happens after an atonic seizure?
When an atonic seizure ends, the person may or may not be confused. Because these seizures often results in falls, first aid may be necessary especially if the seizure led to an injury or bruise. Helmets are often recommended for patients who have this type of seizure.
If someone has atonic seizures, how often will they occur?
It depends. Patients who have this type of seizure may have one or several in a row. When an atonic seizure occurs, make sure the person is in a safe place to prevent injuries from a fall.
How can I tell if someone is having an atonic seizure?
These seizures tend to be fairly obvious because the person if standing may suddenly drop and fall to the ground. Other times, the person if sitting may appear to have their head suddenly droop down.
How are atonic seizures diagnosed?
Usually descriptions of the seizures by witnesses will suggest the diagnosis. Some EEG monitoring may be performed to confirm it. If the seizures persist, other tests may be used to make sure that changes in the heart rhythm or blood pressure are not causing the patient to fall down.
How are atonic seizures treated?

There are medicines, devices (Vagus nerve stimulator) , diet ( ketogenic or modified Atkins) and even surgeries (callosotomy) that can help prevent atonic seizures.

Why do Cerebral Palsy patients have Seizures?

Cerebral Palsy is a complex disorder involving the muscles in a person’s body which, in most cases, affects movement and posture. The disorder is an abnormality in motor function not mental function. Cerebral Palsy is generally diagnosed during the first or second year after birth. For every thousand children born, approximately one to three will have some form of the disorder. However, it is much higher in infants born with very low weight and in premature infants.

Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy are a common association. I mean Cerebral Palsy means that you have some kind of motor problem. Cerebral Palsy can be as mild as someone limping to someone who can’t walk at all. So a lot of people that have Cerebral Palsy, what people usually think of as Cerebral Palsy, are people who are in a wheelchair. It’s called Spastic Quadriplegia, they can’t use their arms or their legs. Now not all the time, but oftentimes with that there is some sort of abnormality on an an MRI. And there’s a huge increased risk of Epilepsy in people who have Cerebral Palsy. So again not every person who has Cerebral Palsy has Epilepsy, but a lot do. The problem sometimes is though, what you think might be a seizure in a patient with Cerebral Palsy, cause they’re so stiff and contracted. Not everybody, but some of them, they can look like seizures, the twitching and jerking, and they actually not be seizures. So it’s important to be able to differentiate, because sometimes what happens is we end up treating what is reported as seizures and they’re not actually seizures. There just the stiffness and the tightening of their muscles. And you treat that also, but in a different way. So to be a good practitioner you got to be able to differentiate what’s being caused, the movements being caused by the Cerebral Palsy and which one are seizures. It’s important if you’re not sure to do a Video EEG, so you can see the episodes of jerking and twitching, and see what’s going on in the brainwaves. And then that will help to determine if medication is indicated or not and then help to make the patient feel better.
erebral Palsy is typically caused by some type of injury to the brain or head before, during or shortly after birth. Since the disorder is caused in this manner, the damaged or malformed brain is more prone to seizures. Approximately 50 percent of children with Cerebral Palsy will have seizures. However, if a child’s symptoms are mild, it may be difficult to make a diagnosis until the child is a few years older. Moreover, cognitive disabilities are frequently associated with seizures and children who happen to have quadriplegia or hemiplegia are most likely to have seizures.

Seizures are common in children with cerebral palsy because the brain injuries they’ve sustained become a focus for abnormal electrical impulses in their brain. Depending on where the abnormal activity occurs in the brain, seizures may affect children in a variety of ways. A child may have staring episodes or experience minor involuntary movements such as eye blinking, lip smacking or-arm jerking. In the case of major convulsions, the child may become unconsciousness or experience a stiffening of the body followed by violent, spasmodic jerking of the whole body. Cerebral Palsy patients typically have two forms of seizures, Grand-Mal and Partial seizures.

Can cerebral palsy be treated with stem cells?

Mesenchymal stem cells from umbilical cord are considered to be universal donor cells because they are not immediately recognized as foreign. The cells home to damaged tissue and are known to secrete molecules called trophic factors.
Trophic factors from mesenchymal stem cells are known to stimulate repair of damaged nervous tissue in both the brain and the spinal cord. Some of these are neurotrophic factors that promote neuronal growth, induce new blood vessel growth, neurogenesis and astroglial activation, encourage synaptic connection and axonal remyelination, decrease programed cell death, and regulate microglial activation.

Mesenchymal stem cells stimulate brain repair after stroke1 and traumatic brain injury.

Animal studies show that mesenchymal stem cell can migrate into the brain and survive.

Because we utilize allogeneic cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells, we are able to offer treatment to any qualified patient, not just those who saved their own cord blood at birth. We will discuss several additional advantages of allogeneic cord-derived stem cells below.


There is evidence to support that bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells are safe and improve the quality of life in children with neurological disorders including cerebral palsy.

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 About Stem Cell And Cerebral Palsy

Can You Cure Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral palsy is condition that results from injuries or abnormalities of the brain, usually in the womb but occurring any time during 2 years after birth. It affects brain and nervous system functions such as thinking, seeing, hearing, learning and movement.

Common causes are hypoxia (low oxygen levels), head injury, maternal infections such as rubella, brain bleeding, brain infection, and severe jaundice. Types of CP include: ataxic, hypotonic, spastic, dyskinetic, and mixed.

The brain damage that leads to cerebral palsy can also lead to other health issues, including vision, hearing, and speech problems, and learning disabilities. There is no cure for CP, but treatment, therapy, special equipment, and, in some cases, surgery can help a child who is living with the condition.

The Stem Cell Institute leverages adult stem cells from human umbilical cord tissue to treat cerebral palsy. Umbilical cords are donated by mothers after normal, healthy births. In accordance with International Blood Bank standards, all umbilical cord-derived stem cells are rigorously screened for viruses and bacteria at Medistem Labs before they are approved for use in patients.

In some cases, stem cells harvested from the patient’s own bone marrow are used in addition to umbilical cord tissue-derived cells.