Brainpalsy.com - Helping Parents Combat Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a physical disability most common in childhood basically affecting the movements and posture causing limited activity being attributed to disturbances, which are not progressive occurring in the developing infant or fatal brain. The motor disorders of cerebral palsy are habitually accompanied by disturbances of cognition, sensation, perception, communication, and behavior or seizure disorder.

There are secondary orthopaedic abnormality inhibited by the child such as scoliosis of the spine and hip dislocation. Scoliosis is a condition involving spines lateral curvature greater than ten degrees without possible cure but can be treated by surgery or bracing.

William Little first detected the cerebral palsy also known as cerebral paralysis in 1860. He was a British surgeon identifying that asphyxia during birth is the major cause of the abnormality. Asphyxia is a condition where there is an occurrence of extremely deficient oxygen supply to the body leading to inability of breathing normally.

In 1897, Sigmund Freud, a neurologist said that the disorder is not brought about by a difficult birth rather from the symptoms of other effects during the development of the fetus.

In 1980, it was found out by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke that only few number of cases of cerebral palsy is due to lack of oxygen during birth.

It was believed by Thomas Galton that there is a consistency between aptitude and physical disability however this attitude stays prevalent leading to an over diagnosed cerebral palsy disorder in 1970.

This leads to occurrences of different cerebral palsy subtypes including hypotonic CP however only one individual out of 2000 are positively diagnosed with this disorder. So it only means that cerebral palsy depends on the peoples interpretation of what the disorder is. Spastic, Ataxic, Atheoid, and mixed are recognized by scholars as important forms of cerebral palsy open to subtypes existence.

It is a misnomer that cerebral palsy causes mental retardation because only those individual with brain damage associated with frontal cerebral cortex acquired this disorder.

Learning difficulties can occur but individuals with CP can have normal lives when it is managed effectively and coherently. Difficulties in movements are common with people diagnosed with cerebral palsy varying from minor levels of clumsiness.

Cerebral palsy can occur during pregnancy with a rate of 75%, at birth with a 5% rating, after birth with a 15% rating. Eighty percent of cerebral palsy causes are not known. However some known causes includes malnutrition, infections and major head injury during early stage of childhood.

Although the occurrence of ataxic cerebral palsy is quite rare (such type is only accounted for about 5 to 10 percent of the entire cerebral palsy cases), keep in mind that it is still cerebral palsy, and it can cause bothering problems not only on your affected child but also to you as well.

The following are some of the facts about ataxic cerebral palsy which you need to be aware of:

• The cerebellum is the part of the human brain that is damaged, causing the ataxic type of cerebral palsy. It is responsible for the coordination and balance of body movements.

• Once damaged, it could result on the following:

o Hypotonia disorder or poor muscle tone;

o Having hard time maintaining balance;

o Depth perception disorders;

o Various tremors; and

o Disability in controlling the motion and range of voluntary movements.

• Children affected with ataxic cerebral palsy may show the following signs:

o Demonstrating unsteady gait;

o Intention tremors while attempting to perform any voluntary movements;

o Clumsiness and difficulty in performing such voluntary movements;

o Writing task is severely affected;

o Depth perception disorder results to coarser movements like reaching for any object;

o Involuntary and rapid eyeball movements; and

o Other related conditions such as visual and hearing disabilities, seizures, and possibly mental retardation.

In most cases, a doctor diagnoses a child for any possible presence of ataxic cerebral palsy through a combination of meticulous physical examination and findings from medical imaging methods like MRI and CT scans. Such findings along with the result of the physical examination are used to evaluate and identify if the brain is developing normally or not. Moreover, if not diagnosed at an early age, it may worse as the affected child ages.

Sad to say, the cure for ataxic cerebral palsy has to be formulated. However, it can be treated by the help of therapies and medical substances. One of the popular treatments used to combat ataxic cerebral palsy is by undergoing a process called chronic cerebella. It starts by placing any stimulation medium such as electrode at the surface of the damaged cerebellum. This is believed to restore the muscle tone and balance.

It is important that you are aware of the signs of ataxic cerebral palsy for it will be your cue if your child is suffering from it, thus you can brought him/her to your physician for further evaluation. Your childs life as well as his/her future is at stake here, so it is imperative that you are not negligent. Be alert and be aware of ataxic cerebral palsy.

While cerebral palsy is incurable, many of the symptoms can be treated. However, because multiple parts of the body may be affected, treatment is usually complicated and involves a multi-disciplinary approach. The exact treatment that a cerebral palsy patient undergoes also depends on the type and severity of cerebral palsy, and the absence or presence of other linked conditions such as mental retardation, visual impairment or hearing impairment.

Typically, physical therapy is a central part of any cerebral palsy treatment regimen. If muscles are weak, they are exercised to prevent atrophy through lack of use. If muscles are spastic, they require treatment to prevent contracture or permanent and abnormal contraction that may result in significant mobility losses. Other forms of physical therapy aim to improve motor development and coordination. Behavioral and psychological therapy may also be required to teach coping skills and activities of daily living, as children with cerebral palsy grow older. Speech, vision and hearing impairments may require specific therapy by specialists to minimize or remove deficits.

Drugs are also used to treat cerebral palsy. For patients with spastic cerebral palsy, muscle-relaxing drugs may be prescribed, or injections of alcohol may be given to relax certain muscle groups temporarily. Patients with athetoid cerebral palsy may be given drugs that decrease involuntary writhing movements. Anti-seizure medications are given to patients who suffer from seizures.

Various types of surgery are used to treat cerebral palsy. There are several operations to lengthen muscles that are too short. Other operations reduce the amount of nerve impulses to certain muscles, thereby reducing spasticity in them. While some types of brain surgery and implants have also been tried to treat cerebral palsy, these forms of treatment have had mixed results. Specially designed orthopedic devices and other equipment also play a role in improving posture and mobility in patients with cerebral palsy.