THE ETIOLOGY OF INFANTILE ACQUIRED HEMIPLEGIA

Abstract

CONTENTS Introduction. Infantile Hemiplegias Following Acute Infectious Diseases. Pertussis. Diphtheria. Other Acute Infectious Diseases. Infantile Hemiplegias in Apparently Healthy Children. Relation to Poliomyelitis. Relation to Epidemic Encephalitis. Relation to Miscellaneous Infections. Relation to Convulsions, etc. Material from Harriet Lane Home. Pathologic Anatomy of Infantile Hemiplegias. Hemiplegias Following Acute Infectious Diseases. Hemiplegias in Apparently Healthy Children. Conclusions. INTRODUCTION Hemiplegia in infancy is an unusual condition. Indeed, an analysis of the United States census report shows that the liability to hemiplegia in the first decade is less than one sixtieth of that in the seventh decade. Nevertheless, approximately seventy such hemiplegias are to be found in the records of the Harriet Lane Home among more than 50,000 case histories. Hemiplegia in adults is usually associated with hypertension, arteriosclerosis and syphilitic disease of the arteries. Hemiplegia in infancy results from very different factors. The acute hemiplegias of children usually occur under the age