Microcephaly or microcephaly (microcephaly) is a rare condition in which a baby's head is smaller than a normal baby's head. Microcephaly is also characterized by reduced brain size and is not fully developed. This condition can have existed since the baby was born, but it can also occur later in normal babies in the first years of their growth.
Symptoms of Microcephaly
The main clinical sign of microcephaly is the size of the baby's head which is much smaller than normal. Head size can be determined by measuring the circumference of the baby's head or the top of the head. This condition can be accompanied by symptoms such as:
- Babies cry a lot
- Seizures
- Visual disturbance
- Speech disorder
- Mental disorders
- Movement and balance disorders
- Hearing loss
- Low body length
- Delayed development of the baby to learn to stand, sit, or walk
- Difficulty swallowing food
- Hyperactivity, which is a condition in which the child has difficulty focusing on one object and finds it difficult to sit still.
Causes of Microcephaly
Microcephaly or microcephaly (microcephaly) occurs due to abnormal brain development. Brain development disorders can occur while the baby is still in the womb or after birth.
There are a number of causes of microcephaly, including:
- Brain injury, such as brain trauma or hypoxia-ischemia (brain injury due to lack of oxygen supply), which occurs before or during birth
- Infections in pregnant women, such as toxoplasmosis or parasitic infections caused by eating undercooked meat, infection Campylobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus, herpes, rubella, syphilis, HIV, to the Zika virus
- Genetic disorders, such as Down's syndrome and Edward's syndrome
- Severe malnutrition of the fetus
- Exposure to harmful substances, such as metals (arsenic or mercury), alcohol, cigarettes, radiation, or drugs
- Untreated phenyketonuria. This condition causes the body to be unable to break down phenylalanine, which is a type of protein-forming amino acid.
Diagnosis of Microcephaly
Doctors can suspect a baby has microcephaly if there are signs and symptoms, which are confirmed by a physical examination when the baby is born. However, the diagnosis of microcephaly should be made during pregnancy so that it can be identified and treated early.
During pregnancy, microcephaly can be detected by ultrasound examination. This procedure will produce an image or picture of the body shape of the fetus in the womb. Ultrasound examination to detect microcephaly can be done near the end of the 2nd trimester of pregnancy or the beginning of the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.
Meanwhile, the diagnosis of microcephaly made after the baby is born is through a physical examination by measuring the baby's head circumference. The baby's head size will then be compared to a normal baby's head circumference chart.
Head circumference measurements will be taken in less than 24 hours after the baby is born. If the doctor suspects microcephaly in the baby, a follow-up examination will be carried out to confirm this condition. Among them through:
- MRI
- CT scan
- blood test
- urine test
- X-ray's photo.
Microcephaly Treatment and Prevention
There has not been found a treatment to cure microcephaly so that the patient's head size can return to normal. The treatment steps are only aimed at helping physical and behavioral development, as well as overcoming seizures in infants with microcephaly.
Some forms of treatment for babies with microcephaly are:
- Talk therapy
- Physical therapy
- Giving drugs, to control the symptoms of seizures and hyperactivity, and to improve nerve and muscle function.
Some preventive steps that pregnant women can take so that the fetus does not suffer from microcephaly are:
- Always keep your hands clean
- Eating healthy foods and vitamins during pregnancy
- Use mosquito repellent lotion if you live in an area with lots of mosquitoes
- Stay away from chemicals
- Do not consume alcoholic beverages and do not use drugs.