Microcephaly

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Skull of a newborn


Microcephaly


Ultrasound, normal fetus - ventricles of brain

Overview	Treatment

Microcephaly

Definition

Microcephaly describes a head size (measured as the distance around the top of the head) significantly below normal for a person's age and sex, based on standardized charts.

Considerations

Microcephaly most often occurs because of failure of the brain to grow at a normal rate. Skull growth is determined by brain expansion, which takes place during the normal growth of the brain during pregnancy and infancy.

Conditions that affect brain growth can cause microcephaly, including infections, genetic disorders, and severe malnutrition.

Causes

Primary Causes:

Down's syndrome
cri du chat syndrome
Seckel's syndrome
Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome
trisomy 13
trisomy 18
Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome
Cornelia de Lange syndrome

Secondary Causes:

uncontrolled maternal phenylketonuria (PKU)
methylmercury poisoning
congenital rubella
congenital toxoplasmosis
congenital CMV
maternal drug use
malnutrition

Review Date: 5/8/2004
Reviewed By: Katrina McPherson, M.D., Department of Pediatrics, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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