Parents of children who have cerebral palsy often don't receive much hope for their children's recovery by the medical community. Many parents refuse to give up and look for positive life changes for their children. They look for opportunities to network with other parents and help each other find support. Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley, works with many parents to find resources and if the condition was caused by a birth injury, helps parents receive compensation to help pay for the life-long medical bills and treatment of their injured child.

Blog

Latest News

Library

Where can parents of children with cerebral palsy find hope, Andover, MA

Parents of children who have cerebral palsy often don't receive much hope for their children's recovery by the medical community. Many parents refuse to give up and look for positive life changes for their children. They look for opportunities to network with other parents and help each other find support. Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley, http://www.tomkileylaw.com, works with many parents to find resources and if the condition was caused by a birth injury, helps parents receive compensation to help pay for the life-long medical bills and treatment of their injured child.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), is a government entity that provides resources to parents of children with cerebral palsy, and also encourages research and holds clinical trials for alternative treatments.

According to the website, cerebral palsy refers to neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination. The majority of children with cerebral palsy are born with it, although it may not be noticed until months or years later. The early signs of cerebral palsy usually appear before a child reaches three years old. A small number of children have cerebral palsy as the result of brain damage in the first few months or years of life, brain infections such as bacterial meningitis or viral encephalitis, or head injury from a motor vehicle accident, a fall, or child abuse. Cerebral palsy can’t be cured, but treatment can improve a child's abilities. The NINDS has a lot of information on their website about the research they are conducting for treatments of cerebral palsy, as well as information about clinical trials on new treatments.

Is there hope for a cure? The ultimate hope for a cure is preventing the conditions that cause it. Scientists have to understand normal fetal brain development so that they can understand what happens when a baby’s brain develops abnormally.

How does the brain develop? Between conception and the birth of a baby, one cell divides to form a handful of cells, and then hundreds, millions, and, eventually, billions of cells that travel to their appropriate place in the brain. Once they are in the right place, they establish connections with other brain cells. This is how the brain becomes able to communicate with the rest of the body.

How do scientists think cerebral palsy happens? Scientists now think that children develop cerebral palsy because of problems early in brain development. They are examining how brain cells specialize and form the right connections, and they are looking for ways to prevent disruptions to the normal processes of brain development.

Does genetics play a role that cause cerebral palsy? Genetic defects are sometimes responsible for the brain abnormalities that cause cerebral palsy. Scientists are searching for the genes responsible for these abnormalities by collecting DNA samples from people with cerebral palsy and their families and using genetic screening techniques to discover linkages between individual genes and specific types of abnormality.

What are some other causes of cerebral palsy? Scientists are studying 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.

Is there something that can protect the brain from damage? Scientists are investigating whether substances in the brain that protect neurons from damage could be used to prevent brain damage as a result of stroke or oxygen deprivation.

Is there a relationship between uterine infections during pregnancy and cerebral palsy? There is some evidence that uterine infections trigger inflammation and the production of immune system cells called cytokines, which can pass into an unborn baby’s brain and interrupt normal development.

Does premature birth affect brain injuries like cerebral palsy? Approximately 10 percent of newborns are born prematurely, and of those babies, more than 10 percent will have brain injuries that will lead to cerebral palsy and other brain-based disabilities. Researchers studying this are looking for new strategies to prevent this kind of damage by developing safe, nontoxic therapies delivered to at-risk mothers to protect their unborn babies.

This new research offers hope for preventing cerebral palsy in the future, as well as giving hope to the parents of children affected by cerebral palsy. Researchers are looking at current treatments to determine if they are effective, as well as searching for better treatments for the future.

Share |

Need Help Now?

Kiley Law Group
342 North Main Street
P.O. Box 3040
Andover, MA 01810
Phone: 978-474-8670
Fax: 978.474.8946
Toll Free: 800-410-2769
Get Directions