Classification of Cerebral Palsy and Associated Conditions and Medical Issues

In the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases, cerebral palsy is classified under G80 as follows:

G80	Infantile Cerebral Palsy
	Includes: Little's Disease
	Excludes: Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (G11.4)
G80.0	Spastic Cerebral Palsy
	Congenital Spastic Paralysis (Cerebral)
G80.1	Spastic Diplegia
G80.2	Infantile Hemiplegia
G80.3	Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy
	Athetoid Cerebral Palsy
G80.4	Ataxic Cerebral Palsy
G80.8	Other Infantile Cerebral Palsy
	Mixed Cerebral Palsy Syndromes
G80.9	Infantile Cerebral Palsy, Unspecified
	Cerebral Palsy NOS (Not Otherwise Specified)

Hemiplegia from causes other than cerebral palsy is classified under G81. (The most common other cause is stroke.)

In many cases, no other condition is directly connected with cerebral palsy. But for some people, the damage to the brain may cause other conditions including:

• Learning disabilities; especially those with spastic quadriplegia or epilepsy. These can bring behavioural difficulties with them as well.

• Seizure disorder (usually epilepsy). Generally this is of either the classic convulsion type (used to be called “Grand Mal”, now called “Tonic-Clonic”), or of a more subtle type (e.g. muscle twitches, or periods of vagueness / confusion. Used to be called “Petit Mal”, now called “Focal (Partial)”).

• Failure to thrive; a severe delay in growth and development. Babies struggle to gain enough weight. It can also affect children and young people. The affected muscles and limbs also tend to be smaller than normal.

• If there is an abnormal curvature of the spine, this is usually scoliosis. Scoliosis can also be the result of other conditions. Other abnormalities of the spine can occur; kyphosis (humped back) or lordosis (saddle back). It causes pain and makes movement and posture additionally difficult.

• Where the eye muscles are affected, this can lead to strabismus (“cross eyes”), or hemianopia (impaired vision in part of the visual field).

• Impaired hearing is more frequent in people with cerebral palsy than in the general population.

• Between a third and a half of children with cerebral palsy have speech and language disorders.

• Drooling occurs if there is poor control of throat, mouth and tongue muscles, and causes skin irritation.

• Incontinence occurs if there is poor control of bladder muscles. Sometimes there is double incontinence.

• Difficulties with sensations and perceptions, particularly stereognosia, an inability to know what is being touched, e.g. whether it is soft or hard.

• Gastro-Oesophagal (/Esophagal) Reflux Disorder (GER, or GERD). This makes it difficult to keep food down and can have a number of causes, including weak sphincter muscles between the oesophagus and the stomach.

Babies and young children with cerebral palsy are more likely to have lung complications and infections.