Saturday, July 8, 2017

Causes Of Hypotonia In The Newborn



A newborn child may be hypotonic and a number of different causes are associated with this condition. The following are the important causes of hypotonia in a newborn child.

Central Causes
  • Neonatal encephalopathy
  • Intracranial haemorrhage
  • Infection – generalized sepsis, meningitis, encephalitis.
  • Chromosomal abnormalities – trisomy 21, 18 or 13.
  • Structural brain abnormalities – neuronal migration disorders etc
  • Metabolic diseases – amino and organic acidaemias, urea cycle defects, galactosemia, non-ketotic hyperglycinaemia, mitochondrial disorders.
  • Drugs – opiates, barbiturates benzodiazepienes etc
  • Prader-Willi syndrome
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Early Kernicterus
Spinal Cord Lesions
  • Trauma to the cervical spinal cord during delivery- usually involves traction and rotation with forceps.
  • Tumors, cysts and vascular malformation of spinal cord.
Neuromuscular Diseases
  • Spinal muscular atrophy
  • Congenital myotonic dystrophy
  • Congenital Myopathies
  • Myasthenia gravis

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