Introduction
The human body is made up of many organ systems that consist of organs and tissues of different anatomies and diverse nomenclature. These organs systems, organs and tissues are prone to thousands of diseases, and one of these diseases is cerebral palsy, which is a disease of the nervous system in simple terms. Research relating to cerebral palsy is carried out, whereby the disorder is described, along with its history, and how it affects the nervous system and the brain. The anatomy of the body systems involves with regard to this disorder, the effects of the disorder on these body systems and other body systems are also researched and discussed. Furthermore, the research focuses on the causes of cerebral palsy, its complications, signs, and symptoms, and the diagnosis of the disorder, along with its treatment and side effects of the treatment. A recap of the research focusing on prevention strategies, the anatomy and physiology of cerebral palsy and the nervous system is presented.
History of Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a brain and nervous system disorder that was discovered in the mid nineteenth century by a group of people with a generous commitment of improving the lives of people with disability (MyChildatCerebralpalsy.org, 2014). One of such individuals is William Little, who pioneered customary studies relating to cerebral palsy by using his childhood disability to substantiate the causal relationships between natal complications and physical and
Cerebral palsy refers to a group of chronic disorders that involve degrees of brain damage that affect body control and movement. The term cerebral refers to the brain, while palsy describes a disorder that impairs the control of body movement. These disorders are not the result of muscles or nerves problems. Instead, they are due to impaired motor areas in the brain that disrupt its ability to control movement and posture. The condition typically appears within the first few years of life and it is not marked by regression. (Mecham, 1986)
Cerebral Palsy is a term that is used to broadly describe a group of chronic palsies, which are disorders that impair movement control due to past damage of the developing brain. Cerebral Palsy usually develops at a young age, 2 or 3, and is a non progressive brain disorder. Non progressive means that the brain itself is not damaged anymore over time, however the symptoms from the damage already there could change drastically over time either for better or for worse.
Cerebral Palsy is a neurological condition. As a result, it affects a person’s whole body and his or her brain, muscles movements and their body. Consequently
Cerebral palsy (PC) is a term that includes neurological disease that have a significant impact on body movements. Furthermore, it has a negative effect on the brain cells which controls the muscles of the body. Usually it affects children since their birth and causes brain development is incomplete, so they will have physical disorders. Moreover, symptoms of this sickness appear when the child's age becomes 2-3 years. There is no real cure for cerebral palsy, but there is cure for its symptoms. Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders and imbalances which affect the nervous system, and there are reasons, symptoms and treatment for its symptoms.
Cerebral palsy is a brain disorder in which it affects the movement and posture of the human body permanently. Cerebral means part of the brain while palsy means the lack of muscle control. Also it is a term that is described by a loss or impairment of the motor
The term cerebral palsy (seh-ree-brel pawl-zee) is used to express any of the three or sometimes four types of the disorder. Still, the term itself can be confusing. Cerebral means ‘brain’ while palsy is ‘paralysis.’ As serious as it sounds, it is not a disease. The term refers to brain damage that causes weakness or paralysis of parts of the body such as legs or arms. Cerebral palsy is a non-contagious, non-progressive neuro-muscular disorder that impairs standard muscle control. There were many researchers who took steps to define the condition as early as
Cerebral Palsy is defined as “group of motor disorders resulting in muscular incoordination and loss of muscle control; caused by damage to the motor area of the brain during fetal, birth, and infancy.” (Jacobs & Simon, 2015, p.46) Cerebral palsy is the most common disability in children. Out of 1000 babies born 1.4-2.4 are diagnosed with this disorder (OT Children).
It is one of the most common disorders involving physical movement and about 10,000 infants are diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy every year. The four categories of Cerebral Palsy are Spastic Cerebral Palsy, Athetoid Palsy, Ataxic Cerebral Palsy, and Mixed Cerebral Palsy. Currently, there is no cure for the disorder but scientific research has progressed in the discovery of treatments and prevention techniques. The term cerebral refers to affecting or relating to the brain and the term palsy refers to paralysis or involuntary tremor or quivering movement. The part of the brain that is affected, known as the cerebrum; the largest part of the brain, is responsible for higher brain functions such a perception, imagination, judgment, sensations, and voluntary muscle actions. In effect to this, the center handicap of motor coordination, can associate with slurred speech, blurred vision, impaired hearing, and an overall mental retardation. Though Cerebral Palsy is a permanent disorder, fortunately, it does not progress or worsen over a period of time. It is not inherited through generations and is not a contagious disorder. Depending on severity, symptoms can develop as early as 3 months old, or even develop during conception and may continue to grow with the
The authors look at how the term cerebral palsy needs to be rejected, refined and then finally recovered. Overall the questions surrounding the term cerebral palsy is, is there really one such thing as CP? Through the thinking behind the history of CP, the conclusion was made that the term is an umbrella term for a group but it is not just one disease. This then leads into the refined aspect of the article because the authors discuss “Thus, we feel (seriously) reluctant to give up the term entirely, although we clearly subscribe to the view that CP is not one disease” (Dammann & Kuban, 2007). With that being said, the information behind the diagnosis of CP needs to be refined and thought , “…is there a way to make the definition (and thereby, the diagnosis) more homogeneous and more meaningful?...” (Dammann & Kuban, 2007). Without looking more into the definition and classification, “…the current classification recommendations are likely to diminish descriptive precision, which will, in turn, lead to oversimplification of different CP forms, make it more difficult to compare research study populations, and make discussions with parents about prognosis and potential comorbidities more difficult” (Dammann & Kuban, 2007). Since CP is an umbrella term for a group of various neuromotor impairments, it is important to continue research. However, “Advances in evidence-based approaches to clinical care have…been slow in CP which has led to gaps in services and to opportunities to decrease morbidity, improve quality of life, and provide cost-effective care being missed” (Aisen, Kerkovich, Mast, Mulroy Wren, Kay, & Rethlefsen, 2011). These delays have been due to the differences between
Disabilities impact the lives of children and adults every day. Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a disability that affects the control of muscle movement. It is caused by brain damage before, during, or after birth. Since CP is a non-progressive brain disorder, the damage in the brain does not get worse with time. While the brain damage cannot be healed, the effects it does in the body can be managed with different therapies. CP is considered “the most common physical disability in children” (Allen & Cowdery, 2012, p. 145)
Cerebral Palsy is defined as 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” (Perry, Hockenberry, Lowdermilk, & Wilson, 2014, p. 1571). This means that any event that causes neuromuscular compromise of movement or posture, from conception to the child’s first birthday, may be termed as cerebral palsy. The condition covers many different disorders, all of which do not continue to cause damage or harm to the patient. It is the most frequent childhood physical disability, as it occurs 2.4-3.6 times per 1000 live child births (Perry et al., 2014). Damage or abnormal development of cerebral
Although Cerebral Palsy is described as a loss of motor function, it is actually a disorder of the brain and results from sustained damage, typically on a developing fetal brain. The disorder itself can vary depending on the “timing of the lesion, the clinical presentation, and the site and severity of the impairments” (Colver 1240). This means that the stage of development that is in progress when damage occurs can alter the outcomes of the disorder. It is important to note that every case of cerebral palsy is exclusive to a patient. Someone who has a milder case for example may only suffer from sporadic muscle spasms and contractions. Others may suffer from a form that induces epilepsy and scoliosis or might cause complete or partial paralysis. While most individuals who have the condition are born with it, it is difficult to ascertain the exact cause in most
What Causes Cerebral Palsy? It is due to a brain damage caused during the birth time, or after the birth, but usually it occurs during fetal development. The major causes of cerebral palsy in the infants are breech births, respiratory problems in the infants, physical birth defects as faulty spinal bone formation, Low Apgar score, low birth weight or premature birth of the infant, being a twin or part of a multiple births, and sometimes having seizures shortly after the birth. Other children might have Cerebral palsy because of injury in their brains caused by an accident. These types of damage in the brain disrupt the brain 's ability to adequately control movement and posture. No doubt most of the causes are unknown, but certain infections during the pregnancy, premature birth, and risky delivery can be the main causes for cerebral palsy. The specialists say that no more than 2% of the cases might be caused by genetic disposition. No doubt the cerebral palsy affects muscle movement, but it isn’t caused by problems in the muscles or nerves. It is caused by damage in parts of the brain that control muscle movements. Cerebral palsy may not be detected until months or years later though the majority of children with cerebral
A child with a Cerebral Palsy may be diagnosed shortly after birth, most of the diagnosis can be done during the first two years. Therefore, for a patient with a milder symptoms, a diagnosis may not be rendered until the brain is completely developed from age three to five. Brain injury or brain deformity are the causes of Cerebral Palsy that develop prior, during, and immediately after birth, under infant’s brain development. So, Cerebral Palsy can be caused by mutation in genes leading to abnormal brain development, maternal infections, fetal stroke causing an interruption of blood supply to the brain, infant brain infection, traumatic head injury, and lack of oxygen to the brain. Cerebral Palsy treatment may include isolated spasticity,
Cerebral palsy is typically characterized as a disorder caused by injuries to the cerebrum, the part of the brain responsible for higher mental functions, sensations, and voluntary muscle actions (7). Symptoms of cerebral palsy vary by severity of the disease, and include seizures, involuntary muscle contractions, difficulty sucking or feeding, irregular breathing, delayed development of motor skills, motor-mental retardation, mental retardations, speech abnormalities, visual abnormalities, hearing abnormalities, spasticity, progressive joint contractures, limited range of motion, and peg teeth (7). These symptoms are usually evident by age two and sometimes as