Abstract
Changing motor patterns of cerebral palsy during maturation is discussed after a follow-up study of 144 patients who were referred for rehabilitation service.
Ten of seventeen children in hypotonic form at the beginning of rehabilitation have showen a remarkable change into the other forms; 3 spastic, 4 athetoid form and 3 mental retardation without cerebral palsy. The remaining cases are still hypotonic but they are less than 3 years of age. In eleven of 100 children athetoid form took the place of spastic form. Two cases initially diagnosed as athetoid were revealed to have been misdiagnosed so due to the restlessness as a symptom of mental retardation. Sixteen of 35 cases finally diagnosed as athetoid had initially showen the other form.
The appearance of athetoid movement was found mostly (in 76% cases of cerebral palsy with athetoid movement) from one to four years of age, at the latest five years and seven months.
A hypothesis on the course of changing motor patterns in cerebral palsy during development and maturation is tentatively proposed.
