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About Cerebral Palsy Spasticity

 
CP affects movement and posture and is caused by brain damage before, during, or after birth. The brain damage underlying CP cannot be reversed and produces life-long disabilities. Despite remarkable medical advances, the incidence of CP has not decreased, with one out of 500 children being afflicted with the disorder.
In a person with CP, damage to the brain has occurred. For reasons that are still unclear, the damage tends to be in the area of the brain that controls muscle tone and movement of the arms and legs. The brain of the individual with CP is therefore unable to influence the amount of flexibility a muscle should have. The command from the muscle itself dominates the spinal cord and, as a result, the muscle is too tense, or spastic.

Patients with CP do not have deformities of the extremities at birth but develop them over time. Spasticity of muscles, along with the limitations on stretching and use of muscles in daily activities, is a major cause of deformities.

About SDR

Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is a surgical procedure carried out on patients with cerebral palsy.

SDR involves examining and detecting the overactive nerves which run through the spine to Oliver's legs. A small incision will be made to the lower back to expose the nerve fibres that come from the muscles and enter the spinal cord. The nerve roots will then be tested using electromyography and the surgeon will identify which rootlets are causing the spasticity. Once the abnormal nerve rootlets which cause the spasticity have been determined they will be cut and the normal rootlets will be left intact. This will leave a better balance within the nerve cells in the spinal cord and will therefore reduce the spasticity

At present, SDR is the only surgical procedure that can provide permanent reduction of spasticity in CP.

In the UK, Botox injections are used for spasticity, this merely eases the symptoms whereas the SDR treats the actual cause.

You can read about this in more detail and discover more of the amazing work Dr. Park and his team carry out at The St Louis Children's Hospital here

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This site was last updated 10/03/10