The prognosis of patients with<unk>  is dependent on the severity and extent of white matter damage. Some children exhibit relatively minor deficits, while others have significant deficits and disabilities. Minor tissue damage Minor white matter damage usually is exhibited through slight developmental delays and deficits in posture, vision systems, and motor skills. Many patients exhibit spastic diplegia, a condition characterized by increased muscle tone and spasticity in the lower body. The gait of<unk>  patients with spastic diplegia exhibits an unusual pattern of flexing during walking. Progression Those patients with severe white matter injury typically exhibit more extensive signs of brain damage. Infants with severe<unk>  suffer from extremely high levels of muscle tone and frequent seizures. Children and adults may be quadriplegic, exhibiting a loss of function or paralysis of all four limbs. Cerebral palsy Many infants with<unk>  eventually develop cerebral palsy. The percentage of individuals with<unk>  who develop cerebral palsy is generally reported with significant variability from study to study, with estimates ranging from 20% to more than 60%. One of the reasons for this discrepancy is the large variability in severity of cerebral palsy. This range corresponds to the severity of<unk> , which can also be quite variable. More white matter damage leads to more severe cerebral palsy; different subtypes are identified and diagnosed by a neurologist. Despite the varying grades of<unk>  and cerebral palsy, affected infants typically begin to exhibit signs of cerebral palsy in a predictable manner. Typically, some abnormal neurological signs (such as those previously mentioned) are visible by the third trimester of pregnancy (28 to 40 weeks after conception), and definitive signs of cerebral palsy are visible by six to nine months of age. Epilepsy Another common but severe outcome of<unk>  patients is the development of epilepsy. The link between the two is not entirely clear; however, it appears that both genetic and early environmental factors are involved. One study estimated that 47% of children with<unk>  also have epilepsy, with 78% of those patients having a form of epilepsy not easily managed by medication. Many of these affected patients exhibit some seizures, as well as spastic diplegia or more severe forms of cerebral palsy, before a diagnosis of epilepsy is made.
Periventricular leukomalacia
Hemicrania continua
Gray matter heterotopia
Schizencephaly
Dandy–Walker malformation
Intracranial dolichoectasias
Intraventricular hemorrhage
Neonatal encephalopathy