Dandy Walker Syndrome: background, symptoms, treatment features and predictions

At the present time, a lot of children born with any pathology appear on the light. One of the most difficult and severe complications is the Dandy Walker syndrome.

Main reasons the appearance of congenital pathology is as follows:

1. Most experts claim that it is a hereditary disease that is genetically conditioned. This is confirmed by the statistics available in medical science.
2. The anomaly of the dandy walker fetus most often occursthose mothers who suffer from chronic alcoholism. Moreover, there may be no other accompanying genetic abnormalities in the child. In addition to the fact that the body of a woman drinking is not a favorable environment for the development of the fetus, this contingent often refers very irresponsibly to bearing. Therefore, Dandy Walker's syndrome in a child is most often found only after his birth.
3. Hereditary diabetes mellitus, rubella, cytomegalovirus infection in a pregnant woman are also risk factors for the development of this anomaly.

Dandy Walker syndrome can be identified by the following symptoms.

The first signs can be identified in twenty-two weeks. At the ultrasound study there are already pathognomonic, typical symptoms, which include:

• the presence of a cyst in the cranial fossa region (the area of ​​a large cistern)
• aplasia or hypoplasia of the cerebellar worm;
• the fourth ventricle of the brain is enlarged.

At a longer gestation period, these symptoms become apparent and visible:

• "cleft palate";
• "hare's lip";
• congenital malformations of the kidneys;
• syndactyly - fusion of fingers on the limbs.

Dandy Walker Syndrome begins to manifest quicklyafter the birth of the child. This is especially true of severe neurologic symptoms, its severity is variable. Very quickly, signs of intracranial hypertension and hydrocephalus appear.

A child with this pathology is very restless, indevelopment lags behind, both in the physical and the psychoneurological. Also, cerebellar symptoms are formed - coordination disorders, spastic muscular states and ataxia.

Dandy Walker Syndrome. Treatment and diagnosis

Antenatal diagnosis is "a fetus withDandy Walker Syndrome "- a very serious dilemma is posed before the father and mother, it is necessary to make a decision - to save the fetus and give birth with a 100% chance of a sick child, or to interrupt pregnancy. As a rule, doctors recommend the second option.

Despite this, children with this form of pathology are born constantly. Treatment in this case is very difficult and, as a rule, useless.

But with an incomplete form of pathology and hydrocephalussurgical intervention is used. Carrying out the shunting of the lateral ventricle and cysts is not capable of eliminating brain damage. The child will grow up as a psychoneurological disabled person with severe physical complications, a number of concomitant diseases and mental disability.

The prognosis of the development of children with such an anomaly

Prognosis of development of children, who are fixedDandy Walker syndrome, is very unfavorable. As a rule, brain decompensation gradually increases. In the event that there is a serious form of the disease and there is no full-fledged clinical observation, then such a patient dies in the first six months of life. According to statistics, this is fifty percent.

The rest of the children, even if there is a seriousthe work of doctors and parents will be very much behind in their development, since their level of intelligence is very low (without the possibility of restoring it in the future). In addition, there is a pronounced functional neurological status.