Does cerebral palsy affect the esophagus?
Does cerebral palsy affect the esophagus?
Children with spastic Cerebral Palsy are especially vulnerable to dysphagia because spasticity can cause contractions of the esophagus that are uncontrolled. What are some of the indicators that a child has dysphagia? Difficulty swallowing is not always easy to discover.
Which Symptoms appear in case of esophageal disorders?
Common signs and symptoms of esophagitis include:
- Difficult swallowing.
- Painful swallowing.
- Chest pain, particularly behind the breastbone, that occurs with eating.
- Swallowed food becoming stuck in the esophagus (food impaction)
- Heartburn.
- Acid regurgitation.
How is esophageal damage diagnosed?
Esophagitis Diagnosis
- Upper endoscopy. A test in which a long, flexible lighted tube, called an endoscope, is used to view the esophagus.
- Biopsy. During this test, a small sample of the esophageal tissue is removed and then sent to a laboratory to be examined under a microscope.
- Upper GI series (or barium swallow).
Can cerebral palsy cause difficulty swallowing?
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) commonly have feeding disorders and swallowing problems (dysphagia) that in many instances place them at risk for aspiration with oral feeding, with potential pulmonary consequences. They also commonly have reduced nutrition/hydration status and prolonged stressful meal times.
Does everyone with cerebral palsy have dysarthria?
While the effects of dysarthria can be present in all the forms of cerebral palsy (spastic, dyskinetic [athetosis] and ataxic) it is most commonly found in the spastic syndrome.
What causes dysarthria in cerebral palsy?
These speech issues can manifest in words being unintelligible, too quiet, stilted or inefficiently expressed. When this disorder is extreme (resulting in a complete loss of speech), it is called anarthria. The causes of dysarthria vary widely but include strokes, brain tumors and cerebral palsy.