- With Mayo Clinic emeritus consultant
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Dr. Jay Hoecker, an emeritus consultant in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, brings valuable expertise to MayoClinic.com in general and primary care pediatrics. He has a particular interest in infectious diseases of children.
Dr. Hoecker, a Fort Worth, Texas, native, is certified as a pediatrician by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was trained at Washington University's St. Louis Children's Hospital, and in infectious diseases at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1989.
"The World Wide Web is revolutionizing the availability and distribution of information, including health information about children and families," Dr. Hoecker says. "The evolution of the Web has included greater safety, privacy and accuracy over time, making the quality and access to children's health information immediate, practical and useful. I am happy to be a part of this service to patients from a trusted name in medicine, to use and foster all the good the Web has to offer children and their families."
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Question
Microcephaly: When your baby's head is abnormally small
What causes microcephaly in an infant?
Answer
from Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Microcephaly is a rare neurological disorder in which the circumference of an infant's head is significantly smaller than average for children of the same age and sex. Microcephaly may be present at birth (congenital) or develop later in infancy.
Microcephaly usually occurs when the brain fails to grow at a normal rate. As a result, the child's skull doesn't enlarge to its normal size. This disorder is often associated with mental retardation.
Causes of microcephaly may include:
- Fetal alcohol syndrome
- Decreased oxygen to the fetal brain (cerebral anoxia) due to pregnancy complications or complications during delivery
- Craniosynostosis — the premature fusing of the joints (sutures) between the bony plates that form an infant's skull
- Chromosomal abnormalities
- Infections of the fetus during pregnancy, such as toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, German measles (rubella) or chickenpox (varicella)
In most cases, there's no specific treatment for microcephaly. Treatment is usually directed at managing the signs and symptoms associated with the disorder. If microcephaly due to craniosynostosis is detected early, treatment may include surgical opening of the sutures to let the brain grow normally.
If you're concerned about the size of your child's head, talk to your doctor. Doctors use growth rate charts — similar to those for height and weight — to compare your child's head circumference with that of other children of the same age and sex.
It's important to note that heads with circumferences in the 3rd, 2nd and even 1st percentiles are just small heads. Microcephaly is a head circumference that is significantly below the 1st percentile.
