Related articles: Microcephaly
Definition
Microcephaly consists of reduced development of the skull. This anomaly can be isolated and have no pathological meaning; however, if the circumference of the skull is considerably lower than the average for sex and age, in many cases it represents an indicator of one or more pathological conditions, occurring during embryonic development or in the first years of life. Microcephaly, for example, is found in the context of viral infections during pregnancy (eg toxoplasmosis, rubella and cytomegalovirus), fetal hypoxia, congenital hypothyroidism, exposure to teratogenic drugs, fetal alcohol syndrome or specific genetic defects.
Microcephaly can be associated with normal or slightly reduced cognitive abilities. Only in some cases, microcephaly is linked to abnormal brain growth, with severe mental retardation. This is observed more frequently in the context of syndromes associated with chromosomal anomalies (eg Down's syndrome) or severe endocrine changes (eg congenital hypothyroidism, see the entry cretinism).
Possible Causes * of Microcephaly
- Fanconi anemia
- Cytomegalovirus infection (CMV)
- Hypothyroidism
- Rubella
- Thoracic outlet syndrome
- Down syndrome
- Klinefelter syndrome
- Feto-alcohol syndrome
- Toxoplasmosis
- Trisomy 13
- Trisomy 18
- Zika virus
