Athetoid Cerebral Palsy - From Prevention To Treatment

The human brain is one of the largest of among the animal kingdom. It is also one of the most sensitive, and each part damaged can cause severe diseases and illnesses. Among these is athetoid cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy is a disease caused by malformation in one or more parts of the brain during pregnancy or shortly after. In athetoid cerebral palsy, the basal ganglia, which is responsible for coordinated movement and basic posture, is affected. This leads to children born without the capacity to move at will.

Effects

Also known as dyskenetic cerebral palsy, the parts of the body most affected by the disease are the limbs and extremities. However, there are also documented cases where the victims lose muscle control to the extent that speech becomes difficult.

In the worst case scenario, the muscles responsible for respiration are also affected, requiring the use of oxygen devices to facilitate the breathing of the victims.

Prevention

While there is no cure, more and more studies are beginning to suggest that prevention is, to an extent possible. Brain damage to the child during pregnancy can be avoided through the careful monitoring of the food taken in by the mother.

During the early years of the child, additional nourishment can also lessen the effects of those with cerebral palsy. Studies further suggest that the faster the growth of a child is, the lesser the chances that the disease, including its variants such as athetoid cerebral palsy, can develop.

Diagnosis

Once diagnosed with the disease, there is no turning back, but only methods to facilitate the pain. Among the various procedures that can be used to treat the athetoid cerebral palsy patient is through the use of physical therapy.

Joints can become stiff throughout the course of the victim’s lifetime, and can cause not only faulty motion but also physical discomfort. Sometimes, surgery is necessary to untwist joints which have become hardened into certain positions.

Another surgical procedure that can be practiced is the cutting of key nerves in a victim which is connected to the basal ganglia and which is associated with the erratic movements. These procedures, however, are permanent and should only be used when no other treatments are available.

Other experimental alternatives include hyperbaric oxygen therapy to supply oxygen to the brain for better functioning, neuro-cognitive therapy which works on the assumption that the brain can relearn to compensate for the malfunctions, and even cord blood therapy, or the use of blood drawn from the placenta or umbilical cord and which is rich in stem-cells.

Treatment

While athetoid cerebral palsy itself is not a progressive disease, and while damages done to the basal ganglia do not become worse over time, the symptoms are another matter. From the first three years of a child’s life where cerebral palsy is first discovered, to the final years of the CP victim’s life, the changes towards the worse can be dramatic.

Some are so completely immobilized or unable to create any functional motion. Worse than the physiological consequences is the social and cultural misconceptions attached. Autism and other intellectual handicaps are often associated and create stigma to the athetoid cerebral palsy victims.

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Athetoid Cerebral Palsy

athetoid dyskinetic cerebral pals

Athetoid Cerebral Palsy - From Prevention To Treatment

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