Cat-cry syndrome or Cri-du-Chat is a genetic disease caused by a change in chromosome 5. The disease has this name because the crying of the child at birth looks like a cat's meow.
Babies born with cat crying syndrome have developmental delays, mental retardation, short stature, small chin, forward-projecting teeth, small jaw, coarse-looking ears, long fingers, and gastric reflux.
The diagnosis of cat cry syndrome is made through observation of symptoms and blood tests.
Treatment of this syndrome involves improving the child's motor development and can be done through physical therapy, hipotherapy and hydrotherapy. Occupational therapy seeks to improve the child's development in daily activities, speech therapy assists in language development, and alternative therapies such as acupuncture and music therapy are sought to promote relaxation and relief of tension in patients with the syndrome.
