Cerebral Palsy History
Cerebral palsy is a neuromuscular disorder that causes sufferers to have severe difficulties with movement, particularly motor skills. There are a number of types and levels of conditions defined as cerebral palsy. The disorder was identified in the mid-1800s; since then theories about the causes and possible treatments of cerebral palsy have varied greatly.
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Definition
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All types of cerebral palsy are caused by the damage or abnormal development of the portion of the brain that is responsible for muscular control, tone, and movement. Different parts of the brain control different motor functions, and the type of cerebral palsy that develops is dependant on which part of the brain is functioning incorrectly.
Individuals with spastic cerebral palsy suffer from stiff muscles that may jerk uncontrollably. Spastic cerebral palsy may affect the entire body, the legs only, or one half of the body.
Individuals with dyskinetic cerebral palsy have difficulty with coordination. Their muscles may move slowly and uncontrollably.
Other types of cerebral palsy are a mixture of spastic and dyskinetic symptoms.
Discovery
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In 1860, British physician William Little recorded the details of young patients who suffered from stiff, jerky muscles in their limbs and who significantly lagged behind other children in their ability to develop and perform basic motor skills. Little called the condition cerebral paralysis. Little watched the children over a period of time and determined that the condition did improve or worsen as they grew older.
Little found that the majority of children suffering from the problem had been born prematurely or after long, complicated deliveries. He hypothesized that the root of the problem lay in the infant's brains being deprived of oxygen during the course of a difficult birth.
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Theories
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Little's theory that oxygen deprivation at birth is the main cause of cerebral palsy was accepted as conventional wisdom for decades after his original observations. Although in 1897 the neurologist Sigmund Freud argued that, because most cerebral palsy patients also suffer from mental retardation, the root of the problem must lay in abnormalities during the development of the infant's brain in the womb, it wasn't until the mid 1980s that medical research definitively proved that birth complications are not a major contributing factor to cerebral palsy.
Causes
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Modern medical research supports the theory that cerebral palsy-- possibly as many as 70-80 percent of all cases--is a result of problems occurring before birth. While the causes have not been specifically identified, there are a number of risk factors associated with cerebral palsy; these include the mother suffering from an infection during pregnancy, premature birth, birth defects, an infection early in the infant's life, multiple births, and low birth weight.
Treatment
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There is no cure for cerebral palsy. The treatments available for cerebral palsy sufferers focus on helping the individual develop the highest level of independance possible. Physical therapy that works on decreasing muscle stiffness and spasticity and increasing large motor skills has been a staple of cerebral palsy therapy for years. Modern treatments often combine physical therapy with occupational therapy (focusing on small motor skills), speech therapy, and theraputic electrical stimulation (TES). TES delivers small electrical shocks to the muscles while the individual sleeps and is thought to increase the amount of muscle fibers.
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Resources
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