Cerebral palsy

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Cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, motor, non-contagious conditions that cause physical disability in human development.

Cerebral refers to the cerebrum, which is the affected area of the brain (although the disorder most likely involves connections between the cortex and other parts of the brain such as the cerebellum), and palsy refers to disorder of movement. CP is caused by damage to the motor control centers of the developing brain and can occur during pregnancy (about 75 percent), during childbirth (about 5 percent) or after birth (about 15 percent) up to about age three. Further research is needed on adults with CP as the current literature is highly focused on the pediatric patient.

Cerebral palsy describes a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, that are attributed to nonprogressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain. The motor disorders of cerebral palsy are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication, and behaviour, by epilepsy, and by secondary musculoskeletal problems.

There is no known cure for CP. Medical intervention is limited to the treatment and prevention of complications arising from CP's effects. A 2003 study put the economic cost for CP sufferers in the US at $921,000 per case, including lost income.

In another study, the incidence in six countries surveyed was 2.12–2.45 per 1,000 live births, indicating a slight rise in recent years. Improvements in neonatal nursing have helped reduce the number of babies who develop cerebral palsy, but the survival of babies with very low birth weights has increased, and these babies are more likely to have cerebral palsy.

For more information about Cerebral palsy, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with cerebral palsy


Girl's progress after pioneering brain surgery gives hope to other parents

Medicine & Health / Other

created Nov 26, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Lexi Haas is awakening into a world of new possibilities. Miracle by tiny miracle, she is making her body do what she wants -- instead of her body always controlling her. She looked up at her mother a few weeks ago, pursed ...





Search results for cerebral palsy


Higher levels of protein hormone associated with lower risk of dementia, Alzheimer's disease

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Persons with higher levels of leptin, a protein hormone produced by fat cells and involved in the regulation of appetite, may have an associated reduced incidence of Alzheimer disease and dementia, according to a study in ...


Stopping a Stroke in its Tracks: Catheter Device Restrores Blood Flow to Brain by Suctioning Blood Clots

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Bobbie Laird was suffering a life-threatening stroke triggered by a blood clot in her brain that was nearly half an inch long.


Glasgow's joking computer

Glasgow's joking computer

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Dec 11, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (11) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Glasgow Science Centre in Scotland is exhibiting a computer that makes up jokes using its database of simple language rules and a large vocabulary.


New hope for diagnosis and treatment of intractable pediatric brain tumors

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists have discovered oncogenes capable of driving growth of normal human brain stem cells in a highly malignant pediatric brain tumor. The research, published by Cell Press in the December issue of the journal Cancer Ce ...


Chances of surviving cardiac arrest at home or work unchanged in 30 years

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The chance of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has not improved since the 1950s, according to a report by the University of Michigan Health System.


Report shows CIMT may improve arm use in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a potentially effective form of intervention for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, but more research is needed, according to a new systematic review published in the November ...


New source discovered for the generation of nerve cells in the brain

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 0

The research group of Professor Magdalena Gotz of Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munich (Germany) has made a significant advance in understanding regeneration processes in the brain. The researchers ...


Scientists reveal malaria parasites' tactics for outwitting our immune systems

Scientists reveal malaria parasites' tactics for outwitting our immune systems

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 30, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Malaria parasites are able to disguise themselves to avoid the host's immune system, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of ...


Clinical trials launched for treating most aggressive brain tumor with personalized cell vaccines

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Nov 30, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The University of Navarra Hospital (Spain) has launched a series of clinical trials in order to assess the efficacy of an immunotherapy treatment. This approach involves the application of personalised vaccines —produced ...


New study finds men and women may respond differently to danger

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 29, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study brain activation have found that men and women respond differently to positive and negative stimuli, according to a study presented today at the annual ...



List of search results for cerebral palsy