The Diagnosis of a Neurodevelopmental Disorder

Post date: Jul 05, 2017 12:53:47 PM

Neurodevelopmental disorders are results of irregular or impaired growth and development of a person’s brain and central nervous system. They are often associated with problems with brain function affecting emotions, ability to learn and control oneself, and remember.

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These are manifested during the person’s growth. The way their brain and the rest of nervous system develops is an orchestrated and very regulated process that is also genetically encoded. Any deviation from this process early on can lead to a disorder. Several factors are thought to have a profound effect on the growth and development of the nervous system, and they could all be responsible for arising disorders.

Diagnosing these disorders is no simple process, and is different in every case. Researchers and scientists have developed multiple methods by which disorders can be diagnosed, from karyotype analysis, to its more recent replacement, the chromosomal microarray analysis, or CMA. CMA detects small chromosome abnormalities that would normally remain undetected by other methods. It is not a cheap process though, being priced at $1500, but it is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics.

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Over time and with the advancement of technology, doctors, researchers, and scientists are confident that new diagnostic methods for neurodevelopmental disorders will be mainstreamed.

Dr. Curtis Cripe is the head of the NTL Group and a neuroengineer with a vast knowledge in several other disciplines, including neurodevelopmental disorders. For more about him and his work by check out this blog.