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American Morning

Strokes in Newborns

Aired January 16, 2003 - 08:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It is a very interesting and very surprising medical fact. Strokes are as common in newborns as they are in the elderly. We are Paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta to find out what you need to know about this if you're a parent.
Sanjay, good morning to you.

Startling. What gives?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Yes, you typically don't think of strokes in newborns. You typically think of them in the elderly, as you say, Bill. But the numbers about four in a thousand newborns, roughly according to this new study will have signs of stroke.

Now typically, newborn is defined as between the -- just at the time of birth to about 30 days old. That's how they are defining that. Part of it that gives, Bill, is that they are finding the strokes more than before because of better testing, testing such as MRI scans.

Let's take a look at what the consequences are of a stroke in a newborn. You see some of the same symptoms you see in an adult. Hemiplegia -- what that means is weakness on one side of the body the other. Cerebral palsy -- Bill, we've heard that term before. Cognitive disability -- that could lead to learning impairments later on in life. Motor disability, death, obviously, the end stage, most severe consequence of that. Luckily, a pretty rare thing.

What happens during a stroke in a baby is not too different from what happens in a stroke in an adult.

Take a look at the animation here. Typically, when you talk about strokes, you are talking about the fact that the brain did not get enough blood for a period of time, and because of that, some of the brain cells die because they're not getting enough oxygen, and that can lead to all of the sorts of problems you are just talking about. Bill, 4 in 1,000, again, is the number of newborns. It very closely approximates what you see in the elderly. We are seeing it more perhaps because of this better testing.

HEMMER: Listening tour explanation, it appears to me there are degrees of strokes in newborns. Is that accurate?

GUPTA: Yes, absolutely, there are degrees of strokes. And thankfully, luckily, most of them are not severe, but let's take a look at some of the sort of signs and symptoms you might actually see if a newborn has a stroke. Again, they can be very subtle. Babies don't have communication or motor skills that are developed yet. Seizures can be an early sign of stroke. I want to say quickly, though, seizures completely not serious for the long run and are not stroke, but it can be. One hand is open, the other is closed. That can just be weakness, as it's reaching with one hand and not the other. Not sitting and not meeting some other developmental, having some other development delays can also be a sign of stroke. Again, not that common.

If you look at some the signs in adults, again, adults are much easier to diagnose signs of strokes. You can see the list there. I don't need to read them all, but slurred speech, weakness on one side of the body, those can be signs of stroke in the elderly.

HEMMER: Sanjay, let me stop you, how concerned are pediatricians about something like this?

GUPTA: Well, I mean, pediatricians are very concerned. Certainly if you see something within the first few days that seems abnormal in terms of any of those signs, stroke is something they do think about. There are certain groups that are more at risk for getting pediatric strokes, and you can take a look at the reasons that they might develop a stroke. Heart decease would be one, infection, sickle cell disease, trauma, coagulation abnormalities are all possibilities.

But, Bill, basically, if a pediatrician or obstetrician sees some unusual characteristics in the baby, they may start looking for some of these other signs.

HEMMER: Interesting, no question about it, something you do not consider. Can parents do anything to prevent it, to stop it, or no?

GUPTA: Yes, two key things. One, if you're going to be a high- risk child, then you certainly look for these things early in life. The reason being that baby's brains are extremely plastic, and that's a good thing, meaning they can change a lot. And because of that, if you find the signs of symptoms of stroke early, you can do a lot to prevent these from being serious later on.

HEMMER: Well, being a neurologist you know all too well how this works and functions. Thanks, Sanjay. Sanjay Gupta in Atlanta.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 16, 2003 - 08:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It is a very interesting and very surprising medical fact. Strokes are as common in newborns as they are in the elderly. We are Paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta to find out what you need to know about this if you're a parent.
Sanjay, good morning to you.

Startling. What gives?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Yes, you typically don't think of strokes in newborns. You typically think of them in the elderly, as you say, Bill. But the numbers about four in a thousand newborns, roughly according to this new study will have signs of stroke.

Now typically, newborn is defined as between the -- just at the time of birth to about 30 days old. That's how they are defining that. Part of it that gives, Bill, is that they are finding the strokes more than before because of better testing, testing such as MRI scans.

Let's take a look at what the consequences are of a stroke in a newborn. You see some of the same symptoms you see in an adult. Hemiplegia -- what that means is weakness on one side of the body the other. Cerebral palsy -- Bill, we've heard that term before. Cognitive disability -- that could lead to learning impairments later on in life. Motor disability, death, obviously, the end stage, most severe consequence of that. Luckily, a pretty rare thing.

What happens during a stroke in a baby is not too different from what happens in a stroke in an adult.

Take a look at the animation here. Typically, when you talk about strokes, you are talking about the fact that the brain did not get enough blood for a period of time, and because of that, some of the brain cells die because they're not getting enough oxygen, and that can lead to all of the sorts of problems you are just talking about. Bill, 4 in 1,000, again, is the number of newborns. It very closely approximates what you see in the elderly. We are seeing it more perhaps because of this better testing.

HEMMER: Listening tour explanation, it appears to me there are degrees of strokes in newborns. Is that accurate?

GUPTA: Yes, absolutely, there are degrees of strokes. And thankfully, luckily, most of them are not severe, but let's take a look at some of the sort of signs and symptoms you might actually see if a newborn has a stroke. Again, they can be very subtle. Babies don't have communication or motor skills that are developed yet. Seizures can be an early sign of stroke. I want to say quickly, though, seizures completely not serious for the long run and are not stroke, but it can be. One hand is open, the other is closed. That can just be weakness, as it's reaching with one hand and not the other. Not sitting and not meeting some other developmental, having some other development delays can also be a sign of stroke. Again, not that common.

If you look at some the signs in adults, again, adults are much easier to diagnose signs of strokes. You can see the list there. I don't need to read them all, but slurred speech, weakness on one side of the body, those can be signs of stroke in the elderly.

HEMMER: Sanjay, let me stop you, how concerned are pediatricians about something like this?

GUPTA: Well, I mean, pediatricians are very concerned. Certainly if you see something within the first few days that seems abnormal in terms of any of those signs, stroke is something they do think about. There are certain groups that are more at risk for getting pediatric strokes, and you can take a look at the reasons that they might develop a stroke. Heart decease would be one, infection, sickle cell disease, trauma, coagulation abnormalities are all possibilities.

But, Bill, basically, if a pediatrician or obstetrician sees some unusual characteristics in the baby, they may start looking for some of these other signs.

HEMMER: Interesting, no question about it, something you do not consider. Can parents do anything to prevent it, to stop it, or no?

GUPTA: Yes, two key things. One, if you're going to be a high- risk child, then you certainly look for these things early in life. The reason being that baby's brains are extremely plastic, and that's a good thing, meaning they can change a lot. And because of that, if you find the signs of symptoms of stroke early, you can do a lot to prevent these from being serious later on.

HEMMER: Well, being a neurologist you know all too well how this works and functions. Thanks, Sanjay. Sanjay Gupta in Atlanta.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com