Cerebral Palsy

Welcome to our Cerebral Palsy website. Here you will find general information about cerebral palsy, current progress in research, current treatment modalities for cerebral palsy, inspirational stories, and a chat room designed for the cerebral palsy patient and family. We also provide the most current news about cerebral palsy and a listing of resources for parents who are seeking additional knowledge about this disease. Here you will also find our Cerebral Palsy Book Store. Our book store is designed for parents of the cerebral palsy patient. While this site is mainly designed for the parents of the cerebral palsy patient, anyone who is interested in this disease will find this site helpful.

Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term which encompasses a number of disorders, all of which have the common characteristic of lack of muscle control and body movement, caused by abnormalities in parts of the brain that control muscle movements. It is a non-progressive and a non-contagious disease. Symptoms are noticed at birth or within a few years of birth. Because the disease is non-progressive, symptoms do not worsen over time. The reason for the disability lies not in the muscles, but rather in the area of the brain that controls muscle coordination, called the cerebrum.

The incidence of cerebral palsy in developed countries is around 2 per 1000 births. Currently about 6,000 new cases of cerebral palsy occur per year in the United States. Despite advances in other areas of medicine, incidence of cerebral palsy has not declined in the past 60 years. There are many different levels of cerebral palsy. While one child may be barely affected, another can be more severely affected and require lifelong care. Most medical intervention is for the treatment and prevention of complications from cerebral palsy. Currently their is no cure for cerebral palsy. Many individuals who are inflicted with cerebral palsy live full and productive lives. The question arises as to what can parents do if their child is inflicted.

Generally speaking, the treatments for cerebral palsy are designed to teach the inflicted individual how to cope with his/her disease. Also, the earlier the treatment is started in the child’s life, the better the outcome from the treatment. Treatment may include one or more of the following: occupational therapy, physical therapy, drugs to control seizures, speech therapy, alleviation of pain, drugs for relaxing muscle spasms, the use of Botox to relax contracting muscles, surgery for anatomical abnormalities or to release tight muscles; orthotic devices such as braces, wheelchairs, and rolling walkers, and the use of computers using voice synthesizers. Also, recent studies suggest that hyperbolic oxygen therapy can reduce cerebral palsy symptoms. Lets examine some of these treatments.

Physical therapy:
Physical therapy takes place basically through out the life time of the cerebral palsy patient. Strength training and training to prevent dislocation allows for easier adaptation and the ability to cope with the disease.
Speech therapy:
This type of therapy usually starts before the child goes to school and will continue as needed during grade school. Because cerebral palsy is characterized by lack of muscle control, the cerebral palsy patient’s speech is affected. Speech therapy can help to correct abnormalities of speech.
Occupational therapy:
Occupational therapy provides for the development of useful skills which can be used in the work place and at home. Examples of skills learned would be self feeding, oral hygiene, upper body strengthening, dressing/bathing skills, and visual/perceptual coordination.
Orthotic devices:
Orthotic devices such as an Ankle-foot orthosis (AFOs) are used to correct gait. They correct gait irregularities by keeping the foot and ankle straight. They have been found to decrease the amount of energy needed during walking, and increase the speed and length of the stride during waking for the cerebral palsy patient.

Example of an ankle-foot orthosis

Massage Therapy:
Allows for the relaxing of tense muscles and keeps and maintains flexibility in the joints. More studies are needed in order to prove the benefit of this type of therapy for the cerebral palsy patient.
Surgery:
Surgery may be needed for some cerebral palsy patients. Surgery is needed to decrease the tension of tight muscles, straighting of different twists or unusual curvatures of leg muscles, and in some cases nerves need to be severed to decrease muscle tension of inappropriate contractions.
Botulinum Toxin A (Botox):
This treatment involves injecting Botulinum Toxin A into inappropriate contracting muscles. Also used to reduce spasms.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy :
This is an interesting new therapy which involves placing the cerebral palsy patient into a hyperbaric chamber. Studies from Brazil have shown improved vision, hearing, speech and a reduction of spasticity for the patient.

So as you can see, there are many treatments available for the cerebral palsy patient. Talk to your doctor about which treatment or treatments is appropriate for your child.

Cerebral Palsy - Current Avenues of Research

What causes cerebral palsy? Cerebral palsy is caused by injury or improper brain development. These causative factors take place before, during or after birth. It is not real clear how improper brain development takes place in most cases of cerebral palsy, but there are highly suspect causative factors, especially while the babies brain is developing inside the mother’s womb. The mother’s health is very important in order for the baby to develop normally inside the womb. Anything that may be wrong with the mother’s health can have a deleterious affect on the brain development of the baby.

Causative factors are the mother being hurt in an accident, and the mother having high blood pressure or diabetes. Sometimes during birth, if the baby does not get enough oxygen, or there is some sort of brain injury to the baby, this can cause cerebral palsy. Also babies born premature has been shown to be a causative factor in the development of cerebral palsy. But yet many babies which are born premature do not develop cerebral palsy. Mistakes made during delivery have also been shown to cause cerebral palsy. Extensive research is currently being conducted in order to fully understand the biological causative factors of cerebral palsy and therefore how to prevent it from occurring.

The United Cerebral Palsy Research and Education Foundation are currently supporting various projects. These projects have brought about some significant results. One important study examined developmental brain injury of the developing fetus. This study demonstrated that the major cause of cerebral palsy in the premature newborn infant who developed periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), was due to anomalies in developing brain cells responsible for myelinating the nerve cells (the preoligodendrocyte). From this it was found that brain imaging evidence demonstrates that injury to the sensory tracts of the brain as well as centers in the brain during development are a very important part of the cerebral palsy syndrome.

There are also studies under way which are supported by the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Education Foundation which examine methods to improve mobility such as areas of constraint induced movement therapy. Studies are underway to examine the efficacy of these new treatment modalities.

There are also interesting studies being conducted involving Stem cell research. Studies being conducted at the Medical College of Georgia involve integrating adult stem cells into an injured brain. They have learned that they can integrate stem cells into the brain and have shown that these cells develop into actual brain cells. Synaptic formations are taking place, but whether or not these synaptic formations result in correcting the bad centers of the brain which cause cerebral palsy, it is not known. This is currently being examined.

These are just some examples of the research being conducted for cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy patients who are living today should see some benefit from the ongoing research in terms of this disease.

Cerebral Palsy - Inspirational Stories

There are many inspirational stories for the cerebral palsy patient and for the parents of the child who is inflicted with this disease. These stories serve as proof that indeed there are truly caring people in this world who desire to do more then providing conventional treatment. Some of the patients in these stories have severe cerebral palsy, and they provide encouragement and hope to parents who feel that at times, caring for a cerebral palsy child can simply be to much. To read an inspirational story, click on the associated link.

Why I got Involved
Kymberli’s Story
A Difficult Situation
Parker’s Story
My Little Champion
My Anthony
Sandeep’s Older Brother
I’ll Do It Myself: The Book
Team Hoyt
Father-son athletes bring inspirational story to Las Vegas
Motivational Speaker With Cerebral Palsy Shines
What It Takes To Succeed: A Dream, Motivation, and a Winning Attitude
THE MOTIVATIONAL/FEEL GOOD STORY OF THE DECADE
Cerebral palsy is no limit to her abilities
A WALK FOR SUNSHINE

Cerebral Palsy - Conclusion

As we have seen, the cerebral palsy patient has available many different forms of technology and treatment modalities. Many individuals with cerebral palsy are living full and productive lives. Many of these patients serve as an inspiration to those of us who can only image what cerebral palsy may be like. But what we have also learned is that their are many people in this world who go the extra mile to provide hope and inspiration to the individual who has cerebral palsy. While being a parent of a child stricken with cerebral palsy is not easy, we have learned that the cerebral palsy child can live a life full of hope and happiness.