In the 1860s, an English surgeon named William
Little wrote the first medical descriptions of a puzzling disorder
that affected children in the first years of life, causing stiff,
spastic muscles in their legs and to a lesser degree, their arms.
These children had difficulty grasping objects, crawling, and walking.
They did not get better as they grew up nor did they become worse.
Their condition, which was called Little's disease for many years,
is now known as spastic diplegia. It is one of several disorders
that affect control of movement due to developmental brain injury
and are grouped together under the term cerebral palsy.
Because it seemed that many of these children
were born following premature or complicated deliveries, Little
suggested their condition resulted from a lack of oxygen during
birth. He proposed this oxygen shortage damaged sensitive brain
tissues controlling movement. But in 1897, the famous psychiatrist
Sigmund Freud disagreed. Noting that children with cerebral palsy
often had other problems such as mental retardation, visual disturbances,
and seizures, Freud suggested that the disorder might sometimes
have roots earlier in life, during the brain's development in the
womb. "Difficult birth, in certain cases," he wrote, "is
merely a symptom of deeper effects that influence the development
of the fetus."
Despite Freud's observation, the belief that birth
complications cause most cases of cerebral palsy was widespread
among physicians, families, and even medical researchers until
very recently. In the 1980s, however, scientists analyzed extensive
data from a government study of more than 35,000 births and were
surprised to discover that such complications account for only
a fraction of cases--probably less than 10 percent. In most cases
of cerebral palsy, no cause of the factors explored could be found.
These findings from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders
and Stroke (NINDS) perinatal study have profoundly altered medical
theories about cerebral palsy and have spurred researchers to explore
alternative causes.
In dealing with Cerebral
Palsy, it is important to understand the available Cerebral
Palsy Treatments that go along with a Cerebral
Palsy Diagnosis after Cerebral
Palsy has been detected. Through extensive, technology based Cerebral
Palsy Research, there is hope for possible future Cerebral
Palsy Prevention.
If your child has any type of Cerebral
Palsy such as Athetoid
Cerebral Palsy, Spastic
Cerebral Palsy, or Ataxic
Cerebral Palsy, feel comfort in knowing you have made a step
in the right direction by contacting us.
