Strength training has the potential to reduce muscle weakness and improve walking ability of children with cerebral palsy (CP), but should be adapted to each child’s muscle response, a study reports. The study, “Strength Training…
Researchers from Northwestern University Medical School and collaborators may have found a way to help children with spastic cerebral palsy walk better. The study, “Gradual increase of perturbation load induces a longer retention of locomotor adaptation in children with cerebral palsy,” was published in Human Movement Science.
The occurrence of cerebral palsy in South Carolina decreased significantly from 1996 to 2009, but was higher in very underweight infants, non-Hispanic black infants, and boys, a study shows. The study, “Decreasing prevalence of cerebral palsy in birth cohorts in South Carolina using Medicaid, disability service, and…
There is limited evidence supporting the current therapies used to manage pain in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy, according to a recent study. Further research to explore multidisciplinary interventions for chronic pain and pain secondary to dystonia — involuntary muscle contractions — along with a standardized approach to pain…
Neural stem cells can repair damaged parts of the brain while restoring motor impairments in a mouse model of mice of cerebral palsy, a study has found. The study, “Exogeneous neural precursor cell transplantation results in structural and functional recovery in a hypoxic-ischemic hemiplegic mouse model,” was published in…
A customized toothbrush with an enhanced hand grip and a modified brush head can help cerebral palsy patients improve their oral health, a study found. Results of the three-week study,“Evaluation of the effectiveness of a custom-made toothbrush in maintaining oral hygiene and gingival health in cerebral palsy patients,” were…
Transplanting neural precursor cells (NPCs) — cells that can grow into any type of nerve cell — to damaged regions in the brain may be a viable therapeutic strategy for cerebral palsy, a mouse study suggests. The study, “Exogenous Neural Precursor Cell Transplantation Results in Structural and Functional…
An exchange program, sponsored by nonprofit organization Mitacs and the University of Toronto, gave doctoral student Alexander MacIntosh the opportunity to design a video game to help youths with cerebral palsy improve function in their underused hand. His goal was to make occupational therapy less taxing for cerebral…
A type of brain lesion in infants with unilateral cerebral palsy affecting one side of the body — called a middle cerebral artery infarct lesion — is linked with poorer responses to activity-based treatments for improving hand function, a new study shows. The study, “Brain Lesions as a Predictor of Therapeutic…
Understanding physiological abnormalities that lead to difficulties in swallowing and voluntary cough in children with spastic cerebral palsy may help doctors to better manage dysphagia — problems with swallowing — in this patient population, a study finds. The study, “Voluntary Cough and Clinical Swallow Function in Children with Spastic Cerebral…