Active clinical trials for "Cerebral Palsy"

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Meditoxin® in the treatment of children with cerebral palsy.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study in subjects with cerebral palsy (CP) to evaluate the safety and tolerability and the effect of dalfampridine extended release (ER) tablets on sensorimotor function

This study will compare two treatment approaches that are currently being used for children with cerebral palsy. Both treatments aim to improve a child's function. The two approaches being compared are: 1) improving function by working with the child to improve his/her skills and abilities ("child-focused" approach) and 2) improving function by changing/adapting the task and/or environment around the child to improve his/her skills and abilities ("context-focused" approach). It is hypothesized that the context-focused approach will significantly improve activity and participation outcomes while leading to no significant decreases in body function and structure outcomes.

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which Project TEAM (Teens making Environment and Activity Modifications) is an effective, socially valid, and feasible intervention that prepares youth with developmental disabilities ages 14-21 to respond to environmental barriers and increases participation in school, work, and the community. Project TEAM is a manualized intervention co- facilitated by a disability advocate and a licensed professional. The intervention includes eight group sessions and two experiential learning field trips. In addition, young adults with disabilities serve as peer mentors on field trips and contact youth weekly to support attainment of goals. Project TEAM outcomes are to: increase youths' knowledge of environmental factors and modification strategies; reduce the impact of environmental barriers on participation; increase self-efficacy and self-determination; and increase participation in a personal activity goal in the area of education, employment, or community life. This project builds on a participatory action research partnership with disability community stakeholders to address the following research questions: (1) To what extent do youth with disabilities participating in Project TEAM achieve intervention outcomes? (2) What are the characteristics of youth with disabilities who most benefit from Project TEAM? (3) To what extent are goals, procedures, and outcomes of Project TEAM important and acceptable (socially valid) to youth with disabilities?.

This study is a single site, phase I, prospective study of the safety of intravenous sibling cord blood infusion in 15 children ages 1-6 years with Cerebral Palsy (CP). All subjects will be treated with sibling cord blood cells. The first six will receive cord blood cells from an HLA-matched sibling. The following nine subjects will receive cord blood cells from an HLA-mismatched (≥3/6 match) or matched sibling. The duration of study participation will be six months from the time of the cord blood infusion.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether injections of Botulinum toxin type A into muscles of the leg(s) are effective in treating children/adolescents (age 2-17 years) with increased muscle tension/uncontrollable muscle stiffness (spasticity) due to cerebral palsy.

What is the CHAMP Study? The CHAMP Study is a multisite clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health that is comparing the efficacy of alternative therapies for young children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (or hemiparetic cerebral palsy). Children who meet study eligibility criteria at one of the three clinical sites (Roanoke, VA; Charlottesville, VA, and Columbus, OH) will be invited to enroll, and their parents will be provided all necessary paperwork along with informed consent documentation. Assignment to one of the alternative therapy conditions will be random. Participation in the study includes assessment of each child prior to treatment, close monitoring of the child's progress during treatment, and post-treatment evaluation at the end of therapy, as well as, 6 and 12 months later. Parents will have an active role in the project, both observing their child during therapy sessions and then engaging in home-based activities that allow the child to practice and extend new motor skills. There will be no charge for the therapy provided. What are the therapies being tested? In the past decade or so, a new form of therapy for children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy was developed and has shown to produce positive changes in individual children and in small clinical trials (e.g., DeLuca, Echols, Ramey, & Taub, 2003; DeLuca, Echols, Law, & Ramey, 2006; Case-Smith, DeLuca, Stevenson, & Ramey, 2012). The therapy is named Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and refers to a multi-component form of therapy in which the child has the unimpaired or less impaired upper extremity constrained (by a cast or a splint) while also receiving active therapy from a specially trained therapist who shapes new skills and functional activities with the child's more impaired upper extremity. Traditionally, CIMT therapy dosages have been high - often lasting many hours per day, 5 days a week, for 4 consecutive weeks. There are important clinical and scientific questions that need to be answered about the effects of different dosage levels and about different types of constraint on the child's more functional (less impaired) arm and hand. This study will be the first that will directly compare different amounts of therapy and different types of constraint to evaluate what "works best" for young children. The therapy is very play-like and engaging for children, and no negative effects of casting or the high dosages have been detected in previous clinical trials. Who is eligible: Children between 2 and 8 years of age with a diagnosis of unilateral spastic cerebral palsy or hemiparetic cerebral palsy. Children must be relatively healthy, not currently receiving Botox (or other similar medications), and able to understand simple communication and instructions. In advance, the treatment will be explained in detail to parents and a written protocol available to share with the child's physician and other current therapist for review. During the one month of treatment, children will not receive other forms of physical or occupational therapy.

Cerebral palsy remains a major cause of lifelong disability affecting approximately 2 per 1,000 children. Of those about 30% have hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HPC),a unilateral impairment, which can often lead to major difficulties with manual dexterity and upper limb,functional ability and independence. Therapists employ a number of strategies in upper limb rehabilitation however they are poorly understood and their efficacy has been questioned. Constraint induced movement therapy (CIMT)has been found to be an effective intervention with HCP however its use in the preschool child within a national health service (NHS) setting has not been evaluated. The investigators aim is to compare CIMT using prolonged restraint with CIMT using brief manual restraint which may be standard practice and acts as the control. This age group has been targeted as there may be greatest neural plasticity (change)and minimal disruption to compulsory education. The investigators intend to recruit 60 patients from treatment databases of participating trusts. Patients will be randomised following baseline assessments which will include 2 upper limb assessments(The Assisting Hand Assessment and the Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test) and a quality of life questionnaire (PedsQL Generic Core Scales and the Cerebral Palsy Module) for parents. The intervention period will be for 6 weeks offered intermittently (2week blocks) over 10 weeks. Parents /guardians and possibly preschool workers will be expected to carry out a therapy guided programme. The amount of intervention and compliance will be recorded by parents/guardians and therapists. Assessments will be repeated at 10 weeks and 24 weeks from the beginning of the trial. The results of the trial will contribute to the evidence on the effectiveness of CIMT in the preschool child with HCP, and will also provide evidence on the implementation of CIMT delivery within the current NHS therapy services. .

The purpose of this study is to observe the behavior of kinematic variables in children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy (SHCP), immediately after treadmill gait training with ankle loading. The children underwent a single treadmill training session with ankle loading. The kinematic parameters were assessed in three phases: before training (PRE); immediately after training (POST); and 5 minutes after the end of training (FOLLOW UP). The investigators hypothesized that the treadmill gait training with additional lower limb loading would be a disturbance capable of modifying the locomotor strategy of children with SHCP, by the increase in kinematic parameters in the swing phase of gait.

This randomized controlled study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of allogeneic umbilical cord blood therapy combined with erythropoietin for children with cerebral palsy.