Neurological Disorders in Children

Neurological disorders in children affect their nervous system (brain, spinal cord and nerves) as well as muscles. There are many different types of neurological conditions that require clinical care. I shall enlist some common neurological ailments that affect children around the world.

Types of Neurological Problems in Children

There are different types of neurological conditions that affect the central and peripheral nervous system. These various types of neurological disorders can occur due to congenital (by birth), heredity, trauma, exposure to toxic chemicals, tumors and infections. Most of the common neurological disorders include development delays, severe headaches, seizures, abnormal increase in head size, muscle rigidity, lack of coordination, etc. Traumatic brain injuries can occur due to motor accident, near drowning accident, brain injury due to fall, etc. Certain neurological diseases occur due to infections like Ebola, malaria, encephalitis and meningitis. Genetics too plays an important role in development of neurological symptoms in children. These include hydrocephalus, anencephaly, autism, etc. If the mother was an alcoholic or drug addict, it may cause development of congenital neurological diseases.

Symptoms of Neurological Disorders

There are certain neurological disorders symptoms that one should look out for. If these symptoms are observed, you should speak to a pediatrician for further diagnoses. These symptoms in children include:

• Developmental milestone delay
• Abnormal head size
• Lack of coordination
• Sudden changes in mood or consciousness
• Muscle rigidity
• Tremors or seizures
• Persistent headaches in older children
• Loss of feeling and tingling sensation
• Muscle weakness
• Paralysis
• Loss of consciousness
• Memory loss
• Muscle spasms or convulsions
• Disorientation

List of Neurological Problems in Children

There is a long list of neurological disorders in children. We shall break up this list into groups like rare, common and congenital & hereditary disorders.

Neurological Conditions in Newborns

• Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH)
• Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)

Congenital and Hereditary Neurological Conditions

• Anencephaly
• Cerebral Palsy
• Chiari Malformation
• Craniosynostosis
• Hydrocephalus
• Microcephaly
• Spina Bifida Occulta

Common Neurological Conditions

• Brain tumor
• Cerebral palsy
• Chiari malformation
• Craniofacial abnormalities
• Craniosynostosis
• Developmental disorders
• Encephalopathy
• Epilepsy
• Walking and/or gait disorders
  
• Gilles de la Tourette syndrome
• Hydrocephalus
• Hypotonia
• Metabolic diseases
• Migraine
• Movement disorders
• Spina bifida
• Spasticity
• Spine tumor
• Spinal cord, nerve and muscle diseases
• Tethered cord syndrome
• Tremors

Rare Neurological Conditions

Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD)
Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) or Schilder's disease is a rare disorder that causes progressive brain damage. It also leads to adrenal gland failure and finally death. This rare neurological disorder in children belongs to the group of genetic disorders called leukodystrophies.

Alexander Disease
Alexander disease is a slow progressing neurodegenerative disease that proves to be fatal. This is one of the very rare neurological conditions that occurs due to genetic mutation. This neurological disorder causes development delay and changes in the physical characteristics of the child.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)
Childhood disintegrative disorder is also known as disintegrative psychosis and Heller's syndrome. This is one of the rare neurological ailments in children that occurs before the age of 3 years. It causes development delay related to language, motor skills and social functioning of the child.

Krabbe Disease
The Krabbe disease is also called galactosylceramide lipidosis or globoid cell leukodystrophy. This is a very rare degenerative disorder that leads to death. The disease affects the myelin sheath of the nervous system that causes fever, stiffness, irritability, feeding difficulty, vomiting and slow mental as well motor development in child.

Subacute Necrotizing Encephalomyelopathy (SNEM)
Also known as Leigh's disease, this too is one of the rare neurometabolic disorders. This disease affects the central nervous system of children between the age of 3 months to 2 years. The affected child loses control over his/her movements. They are unable to suck properly and lose head control. They suffer from vomiting, irritability, continuous crying bouts (esp. in infants), seizures and loss of appetite.

These were some of the different types of neurological disorders in children. If you spot or find anything abnormal about an infant's growth and development, speak to a pediatrician. Do not take common diseases like malaria as well as meningitis lightly. These diseases if not treated on time, can lead to many brain disorders in children. It is very important to seek early medical intervention to improve the life quality of a child affected with a neurological disorder.