Abstract
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a multi-aetiological term, including residua of early brain damage as well as certain nonprogressive genetic conditions. However, progressive diseases such as brain tumours, neurometabolic and neurodegenerative disorders have to be excluded. When the perinatal history is severe and acquired brain damage has been documented, the early diagnosis of cerebral palsy is easy. On the other hand, with an unsuspicious history, the diagnosis of CP usually requires prolonged observation based on adequate developmental tests and neurological examinations.
An early diagnosis and treatment of CP are usually believed to lead to an improved outcome; however for several reasons, this has never been proven with adequate research methods. This chapter gives a short overview on the most important conditions and syndromes that have to be differentiated from CP including some references for further reading.
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Korinthenberg, R., Panteliadis, C.P. (2018). Early Diagnosis and Differential Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. In: Panteliadis, C. (eds) Cerebral Palsy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67858-0_11
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