aetiology
Last reviewed 01/2018
The causes of a floppy infant can be classified as paralytic or non-paralytic.
Paralytic or peripheral causes of a floppy infant include:
- anterior horn cell lesions:
- Werdnig-Hoffman disease
- trauma to the spinal cord
- poliomyelitis
- myelomeningocoele
- perpheral nerve lesions:
- Guillain-Barre
- lead poisoning
- neuromuscular junction - myasthenia gravis
- muscle lesions:
- muscular dystrophies
- Pompe's disease
- congential myopathies
Non-paralytic or central causes include:
- brain stem disorders such as cerebral palsy or degenerative central nervous system disease
- pervasive developmental disorders, like Down's syndrome or Prader-Willi syndrome
- benign hypotonia
- systemic disorders, including systemic infection, malnutrition, hypothyroidism, congenital heart disease