a study on causes and types of abnormal increase in infants’ head circumference in kashan/iran

how to cite this article: talebian a, soltani b, moravveji ar, salamati l, davami m. a study on causes and types of abnormal increase in infants’ head circumference in kashan/iran. iran j child neurol. 2013 summer; 7(3): 28- 33.   objective head circumference is a valuable index of brain growth and its disturbances can indicate different disorders of nervous system. abnormal increased head circumference (macrocephaly) is common and observed in about 2% of infants. in this study, the causes and clinical types of abnormal increase in infants’ head circumference were investigated in kashan, iran. materials & methods this cross-sectional study was performed on 90 infants less than 2 years of age with abnormal increase in head circumference in kashan, during 2009- 2011. the data were collected by history taking, physical examination, growth chart, and imaging. results 65 (72%) cases out of 90 infants were male and 25 ( 28%) cases were female. fifty-three (58.8%) cases had familial megalencephaly, 30 (33.4%) had hydrocephalus, and other causes were observed in 7 (7.8%) cases. eighty-three percent of infants with familial megalencephaly and 50% with hydrocephalus had normal fontanels. in 90.6% of cases with familial megalencephaly, family history for large head was positive. motor development was normal in 100% of cases with familial megalencephaly and 76.7% of hydrocephalic infants. conclusion familial megalencephaly was the most common cause of macrocephaly in the studied infants, and most of them had normal physical examination and development, so, parental head circumferences should be considered in the interpretation of infant’s head circumference and in cases of abnormal physical examination or development, other diagnostic modalities, including brain imaging should be done.   references 1. lunde a, melve kk, gjessing hk, skjaerven r, irgens lm. genetic and environmental influences on birth weight, birth length, head circumference, and gestational age by use of population-based parentoffspring data. american j epidemiol 2007;165(7):734-41. 2. sankaran s, das a, bauer cr, bada hs, lester b, wright ll, et al. association between patterns of maternal substance use and infant birth weight, length and head circumference.pediatrics 2004;114(2):e226-34. 3. demestre guasch x, raspall torrent f, vila ceren c, sala castellvi p, elizari saco mj, martinez-nadal s, et al. influence of socioeconomic factors on weight, length and head circumference measurements in newborns from 35 to 42 weeks gestational. an pediatr (barc) 2009;70(3):241-52. 4. fenichel, gm. disorders of cranial volume and shape. in: clinical pediatric neurology: a signs and symptoms approach, 6th ed. philadelphia: elsevier saunders; 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