Conquering Cerebral Palsy
You can’t dress yourself without help. You get around on crutches. But you still go to school and want to hang out with your friends. You have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy is the name given to a set of conditions in which muscle function is impaired as a result of injury to the brain that occurs before, during, or shortly after birth. These impaired functions can include poor muscle control, spasticity, and paralysis.
Too little oxygen is the most common cause of cerebral palsy. Often however the underlying cause is unknown.
Unfortunately, even with great improvement in neonatal care, the rate of cerebral palsy has changed little. A major reason is the much higher rate of cerebral palsy in very premature babies, more and more of whom are being kept alive.
After birth, but during the first few years of life, diseases, infections, and trauma can cause similar brain injury.
Symptoms of cerebral palsy are related to the extent of injury; they range from barely perceptible clumsiness to severe spasticity. There are three types of cerebral palsy. Seventy percent have the spastic type, characterized by stiff and weak muscles.
Choreoathetoid cerebral palsy is characterized by slow, spontaneous muscle movement with no control.
Ataxia, the third form, is characterized by poor coordination and shaky movements. Many children will have a mixture of types.
Cerebral palsy can affect movement in all limbs, only the legs or only limbs on one side. In the choreoathetoid type, strong emotions can make erratic movements worse.
In addition to limb movement, the ability to speak is usually affected. Vision, hearing, and perceptual functions also may be impaired. About 30 to 50 percent of children with cerebral palsy will experience co-occurring epilepsy.
Thirty-six percent have normal/borderline intellectual development levels, but the remainder can suffer moderate to severe mental retardation.
If there is any silver lining at all, it’s that cerebral palsy is not a progressive disorder—the [NA1] damage has been done. However, the effect on a child’s life depends on the external circumstances and requirements of daily living as much as or more than the severity of the condition in the first place.
Cerebral palsy can’t be cured, but much can be done in terms of care and therapy. Physical and occupational therapy, braces, serial casting, orthopedic surgery, and speech and anticonvulsant drugs can all provide valuable support for those who need them.
The medical research on the use of botulinum toxin Type A, brand name Botox, for children with cerebral palsy is limited, and the results have been somewhat mixed. One review study found Botox injections improved the gait of cerebral palsy patients. Researchers from Wake Forest University found that botulinum toxin A injections produced a variable degree of muscle denervation, provides a clinical reduction in functional muscle spasticity/tone, promotes better motor balance across joints, and improved ambulatory status and hand function. You can’t dress yourself without help. You get around on crutches. But you still go to school and want to hang out with your friends. You have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy is the name given to a set of conditions in which muscle function is impaired as a result of injury to the brain that occurs before, during, or shortly after birth. These impaired functions can include poor muscle control, spasticity, and paralysis.
Too little oxygen is the most common cause of cerebral palsy. Often however the underlying cause is unknown.
Unfortunately, even with great improvement in neonatal care, the rate of cerebral palsy has changed little. A major reason is the much higher rate of cerebral palsy in very premature babies, more and more of whom are being kept alive.
After birth, but during the first few years of life, diseases, infections, and trauma can cause similar brain injury.
Symptoms of cerebral palsy are related to the extent of injury; they range from barely perceptible clumsiness to severe spasticity. There are three types of cerebral palsy. Seventy percent have the spastic type, characterized by stiff and weak muscles.
Choreoathetoid cerebral palsy is characterized by slow, spontaneous muscle movement with no control.
Ataxia, the third form, is characterized by poor coordination and shaky movements. Many children will have a mixture of types.
Cerebral palsy can affect movement in all limbs, only the legs or only limbs on one side. In the choreoathetoid type, strong emotions can make erratic movements worse.
In addition to limb movement, the ability to speak is usually affected. Vision, hearing, and perceptual functions also may be impaired. About 30 to 50 percent of children with cerebral palsy will experience co-occurring epilepsy.
Thirty-six percent have normal/borderline intellectual development levels, but the remainder can suffer moderate to severe mental retardation.
If there is any silver lining at all, it’s that cerebral palsy is not a progressive disorder—the damage has been done. However, the effect on a child’s life depends on the external circumstances and requirements of daily living as much as or more than the severity of the condition in the first place.
Cerebral palsy can’t be cured, but much can be done in terms of care and therapy. Physical and occupational therapy, braces, serial casting, orthopedic surgery, and speech and anticonvulsant drugs can all provide valuable support for those who need them.
The medical research on the use of botulinum toxin Type A, brand name Botox, for children with cerebral palsy is limited, and the results have been somewhat mixed. One review study found Botox injections improved the gait of cerebral palsy patients. Researchers from Wake University found that botulinum toxin A injections produced a variable degree of muscle denervation, provides a clinical reduction in functional muscle spasticity/tone, promotes better motor balance across joints, and improved ambulatory status and hand function.
Illnesses in a newborn that can increase the risk of cerebral palsy are:
· Bleeding in the brain because a baby has a stroke in the womb.
· Viral encephalitis where this viral infection causes inflammation in the membranes around the brain and spinal cord.
· Severe or untreated jaundice with the yellowing of the skin which occurs when certain byproducts of used blood cells aren’t filtered from the bloodstream.
· Bacterial meningitis which is a bacterial infection that causes inflammation in the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
You can reduce the risk of cerebral palsy by making sure that you are vaccinated against certain diseases, taking good care of yourself (while pregnant), seeking early and continuous prenatal care, and avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs.
In order to get diagnosed with cerebral palsy, your doctor may refer your child to a specialist such as a pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist, pediatric neurologist, or a child developmental specialist, where a series of tests will need to be performed. Tests like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a cranial ultrasound may be done to help secure a diagnosis.
There is no cure for cerebral palsy but there are treatment options that can help your child’s daily functioning needs be met. Beside the injections of Botox, there are medicines such as baclofen, tizanidine (Zanaflex), diazepam (Valium) or dantrolene (Dantrium) which are used to relax the muscles.
Depending on your child’s condition, there are a wide array of therapies to try. Physical therapy to increase your child’s flexibility, balance, and mobility is a start. Not to mention occupational therapy, which will help your child to gain independence in daily activities and routines. There is also speech therapy and recreational therapy.
It is important to make certain lifestyle choices that help with fostering your child’s independence, finding a support group, and accessing special education services. You can build a life that you and your child can be proud of even though it’s not what you imagined.
Illnesses in a newborn that can increase the risk of cerebral palsy are:
· Bleeding in the brain because a baby has a stroke in the womb.
· Viral encephalitis where this viral infection causes inflammation in the membranes around the brain and spinal cord.
· Severe or untreated jaundice with the yellowing of the skin which occurs when certain byproducts of used blood cells aren’t filtered from the bloodstream.
· Bacterial meningitis which is a bacterial infection that causes inflammation in the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
You can reduce the risk of cerebral palsy by making sure that you are vaccinated against certain diseases, taking good care of yourself (while pregnant), seeking early and continuous prenatal care, and avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs.
In order to get diagnosed with cerebral palsy, your doctor may refer your child to a specialist such as a pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist, pediatric neurologist, or a child developmental specialist, where a series of tests will need to be performed. Tests like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a cranial ultrasound may be done to help secure a diagnosis.
There is no cure for cerebral palsy but there are treatment options that can help your child’s daily functioning needs be met. Beside the injections of Botox, there are medicines such as baclofen, tizanidine (Zanaflex), diazepam (Valium) or dantrolene (Dantrium) which are used to relax the muscles.
Depending on your child’s condition, there are a wide array of therapies to try. Physical therapy to increase your child’s flexibility, balance, and mobility is a start. Not to mention occupational therapy, which will help your child to gain independence in daily activities and routines. There is also speech therapy and recreational therapy.
It is important to make certain lifestyle choices that help with fostering your child’s independence, finding a support group, and accessing special education services. You can build a life that you and your child can be proud of even though it’s not what you imagined.
