[Clinical features of children with athetotic cerebral palsy in relation to their gestational age at birth].

We present here 38 patients with athetotic cerebral palsy who has trained in our clinic in recent 5 years. The mean age was 4 years and 4 months. In preterm cases, their gestational ages ranged from 27 weeks to 36 weeks, less than 31 weeks in 74%. MRI showed periventricular leukomalacia in 75%. Their clinical picture was mixed quadriplegia with athetosis and spasticity. Half of the cases were profoundly handicapped in motor ability. Fifteen cases had been born in term. Sixty percent of them had a non-mixed type of cerebral palsy. Five cases had no remarkable risk factor during the perinatal period. Six cases were able to walk with or without support. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy was the main cause of athetotic cerebral palsy in recent years. Twin pregnancy was also an important risk factor, especially in preterm infants. MRI could detect lesions in the thalamus or the basal ganglia in only 17% of the 36 cases examined.