Citation

Akuffo EO, Sylvester PE. J. R. Soc. Med. 1983; 76(7): 545-549.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1983, Royal Society of Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

6876043

PMCID

PMC1439124

Abstract

A clinical and pathological study of head injury and the implications in mental handicap are outlined. Non-accidental injury as a form of child abuse is suspected as contributing considerably to the cause of mental handicap in populations resident in long-stay hospital, but this is unlikely to be the best environment for such patients. A number of mentally handicapped epileptic patients who injure their heads during fits and patients who repeatedly bang their heads as a feature of self-injurious behaviour are exposed to progressive neurological deficits associated with lesions in the brain which could further impair the efficiency of brain function.

Language: en