ABSTRACT

Microcephaly is described as a head circumference below the third centile or -2 standard deviation at standards constituted according to the age and gender. Microcephaly may either be primary or secondary. Primary microcephaly encompasses conditions, in which the brain is originally small, whereas secondary microcephaly describes conditions, in which the brain has been formed normally but its growth has been disrupted by a disease process. Head circumference is, thus, usually normal at birth. Microcephaly may result from various factors such as environmental ones (radiation, alchol and drug intake, etc), chromosomal disorders, isolated autosomal recessive inherited genetical disorders, metabolic diseases, neuronal migration anomalies, and craniosynostosis. Cerebral cortex, constituting the 55% of brain is seriously and negatively affected particularly in cases with primary microcephaly since the scull remains small and restricts the growth of the brain tissue. Mental retardation, intellectual problems and epilepsia may occur. Increase in our knowledge about microcephaly will greatly affect prognosis and make prenatal consulting possible. Thus, we aimed to interview the etiological, clinical and laboratory findings of our microcephalic patients.