Cerebral Palsy Research Paper

Cerebral Palsy otherwise known as “CP,” refers to a group of neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement, muscle coordination and balance (NINDS). It is estimated that 1 in 6 children per 1,000 births will be diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. It is often diagnosed within the first 3 years of life and may be prenatal or congenital. A brain injury or brain malformation, which occurs while the brain is developing, is deemed the cause of Cerebral Palsy The resulting impact of this brain damage is affect on a child’s muscle control, coordination or tone as well as reflex posture and balance. It further impacts fine motor skills, gross motor skills and oral motor functioning. When assessing, …show more content…
Cerebral Palsy tends to occur more within boys than girls. If Cerebral Palsy is prenatal, it means the brain injury or malformation developed before birth, and if it is congenital it means it was developed or present at or after birth. Cerebral Palsy is not a progressive disease; it is chronic. According to an article on MedicineNet.com, “A chronic disease is a disease that persists for a long time. A chronic disease is one lasting 3 months or more, by the definition of the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. Chronic diseases generally cannot be prevented by vaccines or cured by medication, nor do they just disappear.” CP cannot be cured but with treatment a child’s abilities can often …show more content…
Many children with CP have average to above average intelligence and attend the same schools as other children without the disease. “Researchers supported by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) are investigating the roles of mishaps early in brain development, including genetic defects, which are sometimes responsible for the brain malformations and abnormalities that result in cerebral palsy. Scientists are also looking at traumatic events in newborn babies’ brains, such as bleeding, epileptic seizures, and breathing and circulation problems, which can cause the abnormal release of chemicals that trigger the kind of damage that causes cerebral palsy. NINDS-supported researchers also hope to find ways to prevent white matter disease, the most common cause of cerebral palsy”(NINDS). Stem Cell Research is another are which shows great promise in the fight against curing CP. Neurologist Evan Snyder, of Harvard Medical School, conducted an experiment with mice in order to determine if damaged brain cells can be fixed or replaced. Early results indicated that missing cells could be replaced in mice. Although, it is still early in the study to know the effect of the research on children, scientists are optimistic. For now, although there is no

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