Written By Jeremy Xu and Yamilet Escobar
Cerebral Palsy is a neurological disease mostly caused by irregular development of the brain at a young age (MayoClinic 2023). Causes for this are fetal injury, maternal fevers/infections, and congenital brain malformations. It causes a lack of muscle coordination, weakness in limbs, reduced range of motion, and eye muscle imbalance. cerebral palsy affects about 1 million people in the United States and 17 million worldwide. The disease is incurable, but early treatment programs can help people to lead better lives (CDC 2023). People who have cerebral palsy often lead rich and successful lives without a decrease in lifespan. They have the same life expectancy as anyone that does not have cerebral palsy. However incurable, cerebral palsy is not progressive, which means that the disease will not get worse over time. Some people can acquire CP later in life through traumatic brain injury, restricted blood flow to the brain, brain infections, and more. Epilepsy, osteopenia, incontinence, and pain are often associated with people affected (NIH 2023).
This disease is also associated with multiple other conditions such as delayed growth and development, impaired vision, hearing loss, speech and language disorders, intellectual disability, and spinal deformities. There are 4 main types of cerebral palsy, such as spastic cerebral palsy, dyskinetic cerebral palsy, ataxic cerebral palsy, and mixed cerebral palsy (a combination of some or all of these types). Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common is characterized by stiff and awkward muscle movements. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy is defined by slow twitchy movements that causes uncontrollable jerking of the hand and limbs. Ataxic cerebral palsy appears as poor coordination, difficulty with quick precise movements, and an unsteady walk or gait. This is due to this type mainly affecting depth perception and coordination (NIH 2023). Cerebral palsy can be treated through drugs that relax the body’s muscles, physical and occupational therapy, and tendon surgery. In extreme cases, surgery can be conducted to cut the nerves at the base of the spine in order to reduce chronic pain and spasms.
In shorter terms, cerebral palsy is harm done to the brain. This can include damaged brain cells. A common treatment doctors have discovered to improve the lives of those who suffer with the disability is stem cell therapy. So, what are stem cells? In the therapy, the stem cells used are types of cells that are not completely developed. They can multiply over long periods of time. Scientists take large batches of these cells and are able to change them to work as a specific type of cell. For example, they can be changed into a brain, blood, bone cell, etc. (University of Nebraska 2016). Furthermore, these stem cells can be medically altered to be more advanced. This will increase the capability in their specialty. These cells are used in a regenerative therapy that can switch out damaged cells for healthy specialized ones (Beldick & Fehlings 2017). The cells slow down the advancement of the disorder.
There are many challenges faced going through cerebral palsy. It is an incurable damage to the brain that affects especially but not limited to the movement and stability of the body. Despite these obstacles, scientists were still able to discover the promising outcome stem cells possess. We are sure to see progress in treatments for cerebral palsy in the near future.
Sources:
Stem cell basics: Stem cells: University of Nebraska Medical Center. Stem Cell Basics | Stem Cells | University of Nebraska Medical Center. (n.d.). https://www.unmc.edu/stemcells/stemcells/basics.html
Current state of stem cell treatments for cerebral palsy: A guide for ... (n.d.). https://www.uclahealth.org/sites/default/files/documents/Stem_Cells_Update-Fehlings-CanChild.pdf
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Cerebral palsy. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/cerebral-palsy
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, October 6). What is cerebral palsy?. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/cp/facts.html
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2023, September 28). Cerebral palsy. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cerebral-palsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20353999
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