Abstract
Purpose::
Visual function is commonly affected in cerebral palsied children. Various visual parameters have been investigated already. This study was organized in order to investigate the visual disorders in full term cerebral palsied (CP) children, who suffered perinatal asphyxia and their correlation to certain types of brain damage.
Methods::
29 children were included in this study. Gross Motor Functional classification System (GMFCS), brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and an eye testing by Visual Functional Assessment - K test were performed. Children with epilepsy or severe previous eye operations were excluded.
Results::
The brain MRI showed that the majority of the children suffered moderate to severe periventricular leucomalacia (PVL) and combined PVL with atrophy; GMFCS showed that the majority suffered moderate to very severe kinetic disability. Interestingly, 50% of the children appeared with visual resolution within normal limits.
Conclusions::
Children with mild to moderate disability appeared with better visual level, compared to those with severe to very severe disability whose visual level was significantly reduced. Children with moderate PVL scored visually better than those with either severe PVL or combined PVL with cortical atrophy.
Keywords: visual development: infancy and childhood • infant vision