The cerebellum in children with spastic cerebral palsy: Volumetrics MRI study

Purpose: To determine the volume of the cerebellum in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) in relation to risk factors and motor development. Material and methods: The present study included 30 children with spastic CP, aged 2-17 years. The volume of the cerebellum was examined on sagittal magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the CP patients and on 33 healthy subjects. To estimate the total cerebellum volume of each subject we used Analyze 10 Biomedical Imaging Software. Results: Children with spastic CP (129726,2 ± 26040,72 mm3) had a significantly smaller mean of the cerebellum volume compared to controls (143122,5 ± 12351,10 mm3). No significant difference between the total cerebellar volume and gender in patients with CP was found. No significant relationship between cerebellar volume and birth weight, Apgar score, gestational age, and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level were noted. Positive correlations between birth weight, Apgar score, gestational age, and GMFCS level, between Apgar score and gestational age, or between gestational age and GMFCS level were found. Conclusion: Our results show that children with spastic CP had smaller volumes of the cerebellum as compared to controls.