Cerebral Palsy maybe/maybe not

“Quadriplegia” & Ataxia: Quadriplegia, nooooo, TOTAL BODY cerebral palsy TBCP, on the other hand, is what is seen after diffuse anoxic brain injury (no O2). The pattern of brain involvement reflects damage wherever the brain's metabolic rate most demands oxygen and also where tissues are most easily damaged by concomitant CO2 build up (which makes acid). Include the heart in that, a reason to get at least one screening EKG in these kids. The really important brain stuff, the basic richly cellular deeper brain base regions are highly metabolic and thus sensitive to oxygen deprivation and CO2 excess & acidity. This is true in adults as well as children. Carbon monoxide poisoning, for example, plugs up hemoglobin such that oxygen can't get delivered by the red blood cells. Those basal brain cells which use oxygen most get damaged first. These are NOT only neurons, but also include cell types which support the brain structure and which nurture neurons. Interestingly, the effects of damage to these cells may not be apparent initially. Damage to supportive cells may take quite a while to manifest as secondarily affected neurons become more disabled over time by the lack of nurture from dead supportive cells. HEADLINE: "Hero Girl Scout Pulls Unconscious Man From Running Car In Garage. Man is fine." but slowly, over months or even years, time reveals the initially unseen damage. BACK PAGE: "Man Exposed to Fumes, Claims Lost WALKING. Insurer Cries Fake! (citing newsreels of him intact.) Back to TBCP. The typical basal ganglia insult will manifest over about two years. Children with ataxia, or athetosis often don't get diagnosed for that length of time. It doesn't mean that the symptoms were missed. It may well mean that the neuron manifestations evolved over time. Below the ventricles, spreading large blotches or lakes of injury may be found positioned along key brain centers called ganglia. Ganglia are centers