Active clinical trials for "Cerebral Palsy"

There are very few evidence-based interventions for children with cerebral palsy who cannot walk. The Trexo-Home is a device that is newly available for rent by families, but its impact is unknown. By tracking and recording various outcome measures throughout this project, the investigators hope to inform future larger scale controlled studies.

The high risk of infants are defined as having a negative environmental and biological factor history, where these factors can lead to neuromotor development problems. It is a heterogeneous group of premature babies born under the age of thirty-seven weeks, with a low birth weight term or infants with developmental retardation due to various reasons. Risk factors in preterm infants include perinatal asphyxia, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), broncho pulmonary dysplasia (BPD), hyperbilirubinemia, infection. alcohol syndrome, muscle tone disorders, low birth weight, hydrocephalus and microcephaly. These babies, especially preterm infants with low birth weight, may encounter a neurological sequence such as Cerebral Palsy (CP), epilepsy, hearing and vision loss, mental retardation, language-speech, behavioral problems and learning difficulties. CP is the most common disease of childhood, with the possibility of occurrence in 2-3 / 1000 live births.Today, the effectiveness of various methods has been proven to make early diagnosis of CP. One of these methods is the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Evaluation (HINE).

This study will compare the motor outcomes for five infants with asymmetrical hand function (AHF) who will receive two, three week episodes of standard care separated by a three week episode of mCIMT paired with Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation. The results of this study will inform decisions on the feasibility and efficacy of the treatment for use in a larger study for infants with AHF at risk for unilateral cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a movement and posture disorder accompanied by sensory, perception, cognition, communication and behavioral disorders that cause activity limitations by causing various non-progressive disorders of the fetal or infant brain. Spastic CP, according to the affected area in the body; It is classified as hemiparetic, diparetic and is observed most frequently. Diparetic CP, on the other hand, is characterized by significant spasticity in the pelvis and lower extremities, mild hypertonus or spasticity in the upper extremities, and incoordination, mostly involving the lower extremities and some upper extremities.Although lower extremity involvement is observed in different degrees in children with diparetic CP, studies showing how upper extremity and hand functions are affected are insufficient.The aim of this study is to compare the effect of upper extremity functional skills on quality of life and participation levels in children with diparetic CP with their healthy peers.

Pain is the most common secondary condition in patients with CP and the most important factor associated with reduced health-related quality of life. Pain in adolescents with CP is reported approximately 50-75%. Despite being a condition that can be seen with such a high prevalence, it is difficult for researchers and clinicians to capture this subjective perception in CP, as the individual may be a small child, may be cognitively impaired, visually impaired, or have communication difficulties. For these reasons, unrecognized pain can have negative effects on quality of life and participation in daily living activities, both as a result of limited mobility resulting from pain itself and fear-driven avoidance of specific activities. Self-report of pain is appropriate for individuals with CP without cognitive impairment. However, depending on the severity of communication impairment, self-report may be limited or even impossible to obtain in individuals with severe CP. In the case of individuals with CP, self-report supplemented with parent report, when possible, is the recommended strategy. The aims of this study: (i) to explore what is known about the prevalence, location, intensity and the effect of pain on daily lives of adolescents with CP; (ii) to demonstrate the relation between pain, clinical and sociodemographic characteristics; (iii) to compare self-reports of pain with mothers'reports of their child's pain.

Children with Cerebral Palsy have generally limited selective motor control which affects their ability to complete functional tasks Selective Motor Control has been shown to correlate with specific characteristics of gait, however in video based observational gait analysis, the sub phases of the gait cycle, which are affected by selective motor control, has not been investigated in children with Cerebral Palsy. Therefore the aim of this study was determine the relationship between Edinburgh Visual Gait Score and Selective Motor Control of the Lower Extremity test in children with cerebral palsy. Forty-two cerebral palsy children with Gross Motor Function Classification System level I-II-III and between 4-18 ages were participated for the study. After the demographic characteristics and all assessments of the patients were recorded, the gait characteristics of children were assessed by video based observational gait analysis. According to Edinburgh Visual Gait Score, phases of gait were analyzed. Keywords: Cerebral Palsy, Selective Motor Control, Gait, Edinburgh Visual Gait Score

It is often difficult to quantify and distinguish aspects of abnormal muscle tone due to neurological injury. This makes it difficult to evaluate therapies that aim to reduce the effects of abnormal muscle tone. This research study will evaluate the feasibility of a clinician worn device to capture and quantify features of spasticity and dystonia.

Several methods exist to evaluate motor function in the child with cerebral palsy and are used to assess the outcome of a clinical intervention. However, these scales are not directed towards measuring the changes in muscle activity patterns that can result from the intervention. For example, there are classification scales aimed at measuring motor function and functional abilities, and indices of gait function. These scores, while providing a way to quantify function and mechanics, do not directly measure muscle activation characteristics. Therefore, these tests may be insensitive to how the intervention has directly affected muscle function, which is usually the focus of the intervention (i.e. botulinum toxin, functional electrical stimulation, dorsal rhizotomy). Muscle biopsies and motor evoked potentials can provide information about the muscle activation characteristics, however, they are invasive and there are concerns about using these techniques on the pediatric population and/or the practicality of clinical implementation, especially since they do not provide insight into how the muscle behaves during a functional task. One method that can be used to provide insight into muscle activity in a non-invasive and clinically meaningful manner is the use of surface electromyography (sEMG). Surface EMG is typically a routine part of clinical assessment and the evaluation of motor impairment in CP. However, the analysis of the data has been limited in most cases to examination of signal amplitude or differences in muscle onset and offset timing. The long-term goal of this research is to develop an analysis method for sEMG that can be used during functional tasks for treatment planning, diagnostic, assessment purposes in CP. This is to be accomplished through the use of the continuous wavelet transform (CWT). By developing an assessment method based on muscle activity, it is believed that a clinically viable measurement tool can be devised that will provide a level of insight into the effects of an intervention on muscle pathophysiology that is not currently available. The first step in progressing towards this long-term goal is to determine the variability and range of expected time-frequency patterns that can be expressed in a given population (i.e., cerebral palsy) during the execution of a meaningful task (gait), and relate the time-frequency information back to more standard assessments

The purpose of this study is to document that taking part in this program is beneficial for the child, its parents and local professionals. The study hypothesis are: Intensive training will speed up the childs motor, cognitive and social development. Intensive habilitation will increase the childs family's empowerment Children having participated in this intensive habilitation will speed up their process of development further than children in the control group The cooperation between first and second line health service is strengthened by participation in the intensive habilitation program The professionals in the first line(community)in Norway that participates in this program increases their empowerment and motivation

This study will examine how the brain controls movements in patients with certain types of cerebral palsy. In healthy people, one side of the body usually controls movements on the other side of the body. In patients with cerebral palsy, this pattern may be altered, and one side of the brain may control movements on the same side of the body. Information obtained from this study may lead to improved rehabilitation therapy strategies for patients with cerebral palsy. Healthy volunteers and patients with cerebral palsy between 6 and 18 years of age may be eligible for this study. All candidates will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, and psychological testing. In addition, patients with cerebral palsy will have hearing and vision tests, a review of their medical records, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan if one has not been done within the past year. For this test, the patient lies on a table that slides into a narrow metal cylinder with a strong magnetic field (the scanner). The scanning time usually lasts between 45 and 90 minutes. Patients enrolled in the study also will be evaluated by a physiatrist and physical and occupational therapists. They will be examined for muscle stiffness and reflexes. Their gait and movements (e.g., how they pick up a glass of water) will be evaluated. They will be asked about their ability to perform activities around the house and at school and whether a wheelchair or walker is needed to get around. Patients may also be asked about how they are dealing with their movement problems and how it affects their caregivers. All participants will undergo three tests, described below, to evaluate movement control. The first two tests use electrodes (small metal discs) taped to the skin over the muscles in both hands to measure muscle activity. A small disc placed on the fingers detects and measures the hand movements. The third test uses magnetic pulses that stimulate the brain to study how the brain controls movements. Quantitative test of fine motor function: For this test, the subject taps buttons at different speeds on a box attached to a computer. The test is similar to playing simple computer games. Long latency reflexes: For this test, the subject's hand is lightly strapped into a holder that holds the hand still while a motor moves the index finger with sudden small movements. These reflexes may also be tested using a gentle shock to the finger delivered through a ring electrode. Transcranial magnetic stimulation: For this test, the subject sits in a comfortable chair. An insulated coil is held on the scalp. A magnetic pulse from the coil stimulates the brain. The subject may hear a click and feel a snap or pulling sensation on the scalp under the coil. The stimulation may also cause twitching in the muscles of the arm or leg. During the stimulation, the subject may be asked to move certain muscles or perform other simple actions.