Background: Dyskinetic cerebral palsy results from extrapyramidal damage, often with high handicap in movement and hard to treat. In this article, we discuss the classification of epidemiology and etiology, neuroimaging findings, treatment and prognosis of dyskinetic cerebral palsy in children.

Data sources: The literature about dyskinetic cerebral palsy was reviewed.

Results: Dyskinesia accounts for approximately 20 percent in all types of cerebral palsy.  The primary semiological features of dyskinetic cerebral palsy are voluntary motion disorders with increased involuntary movements which may show various combined symptoms such as torsion spasm, dystonia, chorea, athetosis and so on. Dyskinesia due to hypoxic ischemic brain injury and bilirubin encephalopathy may have different clinical and pathophysiological basis. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of dyskinesia are characteristic. In general, the handicaps relating to dystonia belong to moderate and severe disabilities, which are almost hard to ambulate, while pure athetosis are mild disabilities with good prognosis.

Conclusions: The symptoms and neuroimaging findings are dependent on the period, etiology, spot of brain lesions. MRI should be considered as the optimal selection for the diagnosis and etiological research of dyskinetic cerebral palsy.