Cerebral Palsy Treatments

The goal of this dissertation was to develop guidelines for treating crouch gait, a prevalent movement abnormality among children with cerebral palsy. The outcomes of orthopaedic surgeries to treat crouch gait are unpredictable and sometimes satisfactory.

This thesis prospectively evaluated the cognitive and functional outcomes and health-related quality of life of children admitted urgently to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the Hospital for Sick Children.

Perinatal hypoxic ischemic (HI) injury is a leading cause of long-term neurological complications in newborn babies. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of endopeptidases that are capable of degrading the extracellular matrix (ECM) components.

Impairments of upper limb function can negatively impact an individual’s ability to carry out everyday tasks.

Maternal exposure to viral and bacterial infection during pregnancy is associated with fetal dysmorphology and neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia, cerebral palsy, autism and mental retardation.

The overall result is that there is a deterioration of motor function in many individuals already early in adulthood. These deteriorations are preceded and/or followed by musculoskeletal problems such as pain and limited range of motion, often in combination with fatigue. Despite deteriorations many people maintain daily personal activities, but are often forced to prioritize among societal activities.

There is a small but growing population of people who suffer from impaired balance. The causes range from old age to stroke to cerebral palsy.

Dysarthria is one of the most common signs of speech impairment in the cerebral palsy (CP) population. Facilitating strategies for speech enhancement in this population often include training on speech breathing.

The work introduces a new theoretical system designed to automate the scheduling of pediatric occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) appointments across any number of regional service locations.

This qualitative thesis uses discourse analysis to examine parental resistance towards medical treatment of critically ill children

The assessment of any therapy requires not only an understanding of how that therapy works but also how it affects health related quality of life (HRQOL).

To investigate the effect a supination splint would have on upper limb function of cerebral palsy children for six months after receiving Botox® injections.

Children who have multiple disabilities often have complex communicational needs (Crickmay 1966; Orelove & Sobsey, 1996; Van Riper & Erickson, 1996; Workinger 2005). To augment or supplement these children’s communication skills some form of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) may be provided (Beukleman & Mirenda, 2005

There are a lack of reliable and valid clinical outcome measures to assess the effects of medical interventions in children with cerebral palsy, potentially compromising research and clinical practice in this area. The objective of this thesis was to identify and develop reliable outcome measures that could be used to evaluate the effects of botulinum toxin A in children with cerebral palsy.

The present thesis aims at assessing the cognitive effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2 ) therapy, a technique known for a certain “medical adventurism” around the world.

Despite lack of scientific evidence, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO2) has been used as a treatment for children with cerebral palsy (CP). Recently, a multi-centre randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessed the efficacy of HBO2 therapy for children with CP.

Perinatal hypoxia-ischaemia is a major cause of disability, including cerebral palsy, yet a neuroprotectant which fully protects the brain remains elusive.

The thesis contends that holistic, community-based treatment is preferable to carceral options for offenders with fetal alcohol conditions, presents emerging support for this contention, identifies barriers to the implementation of community-based treatment, and culminates with analyses of ways of influencing policy reform or of legally mandating non-carceral treatment options.

Quantitative approaches to directly measure infant movement have not utilized miniature electronics technology, nor been used effectively in evaluating neurological dysfunctions’ affect on movement. This thesis presents a new quantitative technique for measuring infant general movements (GMs) using micro-electromechanical accelerometers, while discussing future improvements for this technology and possible benefits to present methods of diagnosing cerebral palsy.

Unilateral arm/hand dysfunction caused by obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBPP) or hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) is most often afflicted on a child in the pre- or perinatal period of life.