Prenatal determinants of motor disorders.

Abstract

Cerebral palsies (CP) are the commonest childhood motor disorders, originating in early childhood as a result of interference in the developing brain. Identifying prenatal factors in CP is a challenge because there is a considerable period of time (years) between the causal event(s) and diagnosis. Four fascinating "natural" situations provided a unique opportunity to identify and measure prenatal exposures in relation to motor disorders, thus establishing the unequivocal role of some factors. However, the majority of studies determining adverse reproductive effects of environmental factors require a retrospective case-control approach, which present considerable problems. Studies based on th..