Cerebral palsy can’t be cured, but treatment will often improve a child's capabilities.   Many children go on to enjoy near-normal adult lives if their disabilities are properly managed. In general, the earlier treatment begins the better chance children have of overcoming developmental disabilities or learning new ways to accomplish the tasks that challenge them.   

There is no standard therapy that works for every individual with cerebral palsy. Each child’s disability is as unique as that child. Often this becomes a source of frustration for parents who want exact answers.  Once the diagnosis is made, and the type of cerebral palsy is determined, a team of health care professionals will work with a child and his or her parents to identify specific impairments and needs, and then develop an appropriate plan to address the core disabilities that affect the child’s quality of life.   

A comprehensive management plan will combine the expertise of health professionals in the following areas:   

Physical therapy to improve walking and gait, stretch spastic muscles, and prevent deformities; 

Occupational therapy to develop compensating tactics for everyday activities such as dressing, going to school, and participating in day-to-day activities; 

Speech therapy to address swallowing disorders, speech impediments, and other obstacles to communication; 

Counseling and behavioral therapy to address emotional and psychological needs and help children cope emotionally with their disabilities;

Drug treatment to control seizures, relax muscle spasms, and alleviate pain;

Surgery to correct anatomical abnormalities or release tight muscles;

Braces and other orthotic devices to compensate for muscle imbalance, improve posture and walking, and increase independent mobility;

Mechanical aids and assistive technology such as wheelchairs and rolling walkers for individuals who are not independently mobile; and

Communication aids such as computers, voice synthesizers, or symbol boards to allow severely impaired individuals to communicate with others.  

Doctors use tests and evaluation scales to determine a child’s level of disability, and then make decisions about the types of treatments and the best timing and strategy for interventions.  Early intervention programs typically provide all the required therapies within a single treatment center.  Centers also focus on parents’ needs, often offering support groups, babysitting services, and respite care.   

The members of the treatment team for a child with cerebral palsy will most likely include the following:    

A physician, such as a pediatrician, pediatric neurologist, or pediatric physiatrist, who is trained to help developmentally disabled children. This doctor, who often acts as the leader of the treatment team, integrates the professional advice of all team members into a comprehensive treatment plan, makes sure the plan is implemented properly, and follows the child’s progress over a number of years.

An orthopedist, a surgeon who specializes in treating the bones, muscles, tendons, and other parts of the skeletal system. An orthopedist is often brought in to diagnose and treat muscle problems associated with cerebral palsy.

A physical therapist, who designs and puts into practice special exercise programs to improve strength and functional mobility.

An occupational therapist, who teaches the skills necessary for day-to-day living, school, and work.

A speech and language pathologist, who specializes in diagnosing and treating disabilities relating to difficulties with swallowing and communication.   

A social worker, who helps individuals and their families locate community assistance and education programs.

A psychologist, who helps individuals and their families cope with the special stresses and demands of cerebral palsy. In some cases, psychologists may also oversee therapy to modify unhelpful or destructive behaviors.

Many educators, who may play an especially important role when mental retardation or learning disabilities present a challenge to education.

Regardless of age or the types of therapy that are used, treatment doesn’t end when an individual with cerebral palsy leaves the treatment center.  Most of the work is done at home.   Members of the treatment team often act as coaches, giving parents and children techniques and strategies to practice at home.  Family support and personal determination and ability are three of the most important factors in helping individuals with cerebral palsy reach their long-term goals.

While mastering specific skills is an important focus of treatment on a day-to-day basis, the ultimate goal is to help children grow into adulthood with as much independence as possible. 

As a child with cerebral palsy grows older, the need for therapy and the kinds of therapies required, as well as support services, will likely change.   Counseling for emotional and psychological challenges may be needed at any age, but is often most critical during adolescence. Depending on their physical and intellectual abilities, adults may need help finding attendants to care for them, a place to live, a job, and a way to get to their place of employment. 

Addressing the needs of parents and caregivers is also an important component of the treatment plan.  The well-being of an individual with cerebral palsy depends upon the strength and well-being of his or her family.  For parents to accept a child’s disabilities and come to grips with the extent of their care giving responsibilities will take time and support from health care professionals.  Family-centered programs in hospitals and clinics and community-based organizations usually work together with families to help them make well-informed decisions about the services they need.  They also coordinate services to get the most out of treatment.    

A good program will encourage the open exchange of information, offer respectful and supportive care, encourage partnerships between parents and the health care professionals they work with, and acknowledge that although medical specialists may be the experts, it’s parents who know their children best.

What Treatments Are Available?

Physical therapy, usually begun in the first few years of life or soon after the diagnosis is made, is a cornerstone of cerebral palsy treatment. Physical therapy programs use specific sets of exercises and activities to work toward two important goals: preventing weakening or deterioration in the muscles that aren’t being used (disuse atrophy), and keeping muscles from becoming fixed in a rigid, abnormal position (contracture).

Resistive exercise programs (also called strength training) and other types of exercise are often used to increase muscle performance, especially in children and adolescents with mild cerebral palsy.  Daily bouts of exercise keep muscles that aren’t normally used moving and active and less prone to wasting away.  Exercise also reduces the risk of contracture, one of the most common and serious complications of cerebral palsy.

Normally growing children stretch their muscles and tendons as they run, walk, and move through their daily activities.  This insures that their muscles grow at the same rate as their bones. But in children with cerebral palsy, spasticity prevents muscles from stretching.  As a result, their muscles don’t grow fast enough to keep up with their lengthening bones.  The muscle contracture that results can set back the gains in function they’ve made.  Physical therapy alone or in combination with special braces (called orthotic devices) helps prevent contracture by stretching spastic muscles.

Occupational therapy, This kind of therapy focuses on optimizing upper body function, improving posture, and making the most of a child’s mobility.  An occupational therapist helps a child master the basic activities of daily living, such as eating, dressing, and using the bathroom alone.  Fostering this kind of independence boosts self-reliance and self-esteem, and also helps reduce demands on parents and caregivers.   

Recreational therapies.   Recreational therapies, such as therapeutic horseback riding (also called hippotherapy), are sometimes used with mildly impaired children to improve gross motor skills.  Parents of children who participate in recreational therapies usually notice an improvement in their child’s speech, self-esteem, and emotional well-being. 

Controversial physical therapies.  "Patterning" is a physical therapy based on the principle that children with cerebral palsy should be taught motor skills in the same sequence in which they develop in normal children.  In this controversial approach, the therapist begins by teaching a child elementary movements such as crawling -- regardless of age – before moving on to walking skills. Some experts and organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have expressed strong reservations about the patterning approach because studies have not documented its value.

Experts have similar reservations about the Bobath technique (which is also called “neurodevelopmental treatment”), named for a husband and wife team who pioneered the approach in England .   In this form of physical therapy, instructors inhibit abnormal patterns of movement and encourage more normal movements. 

The Bobath technique has had a widespread influence on the core physical therapies of cerebral palsy treatment, but there is no evidence that the technique improves motor control.  The American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine reviewed studies that measured the impact of neurodevelopmental treatment and concluded that there was no strong evidence supporting its effectiveness for children with cerebral palsy. 

Conductive education, developed in Hungary in the 1940s, is another physical therapy that at one time appeared to hold promise.  Conductive education instructors attempt to improve a child’s motor abilities by combining rhythmic activities, such as singing and clapping, with physical maneuvers on special equipment.  The therapy, however, has not been able to produce consistent or significant improvements in study groups. 

Speech and language therapy.  About 20 percent of children with cerebral palsy are unable to produce intelligible speech.  They also experience challenges in other areas of communication, such as hand gestures and facial expressions, and they have difficulty participating in the basic give and take of a normal conversation.  These challenges will last throughout their lives. 

Speech and language therapists (also known as speech therapists or speech-language pathologists) observe, diagnose, and treat the communication disorders associated with cerebral palsy.   They use a program of exercises to teach children how to overcome specific communication difficulties.

For example, if a child has difficulty saying words that begin with "b," the therapist may suggest daily practice with a list of "b" words, increasing their difficulty as each list is mastered. Other kinds of exercises help children master the social skills involved in communicating by teaching them to keep their head up, maintain eye contact, and repeat themselves when they are misunderstood.

Speech therapists can also help children with severe disabilities learn how to use special communication devices, such as a computer with a voice synthesizer, or a special   board covered with symbols of everyday objects and activities to which a child can point to indicate his or her wishes.          

Speech interventions often use a child’s family members and friends to reinforce the lessons learned in a therapeutic setting.  This kind of indirect therapy encourages people who are in close daily contact with a child to create opportunities for him or her to use their new skills in conversation. 

Treatments for problems with eating and drooling are often necessary when children with cerebral palsy have difficulty eating and drinking because they have little control over the muscles that move their mouth, jaw, and tongue.  They are also at risk for breathing food or fluid into the lungs.  Some children develop gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD, commonly called heartburn) in which a weak diaphragm can’t keep stomach acids from spilling into the esophagus.  The irritation of the acid can cause bleeding and pain. 

Individuals with cerebral palsy are also at risk for malnutrition, recurrent lung infections, and progressive lung disease.  The individuals most at risk for these problems are those with spastic quadriplegia.

Initially, children should be evaluated for their swallowing ability, which is usually done with a modified barium swallow study.  Recommendations regarding diet modifications will be derived from the results of this study.

In severe cases where swallowing problems are causing malnutrition, a doctor may recommend tube feeding, in which a tube delivers food and nutrients down the throat and into the stomach, or gastrostomy, in which a surgical opening allows a tube to be placed directly into the stomach.

Although numerous treatments for drooling have been tested over the years, there is no one treatment that helps reliably.  Anticholinergic drugs – such as glycopyrolate -- can reduce the flow of saliva but may cause unpleasant side effects, such as dry mouth, constipation, and urinary retention.  Surgery, while sometimes effective, carries the risk of complications.   Some children benefit from biofeedback techniques that help them recognize more quickly when their mouths fall open and they begin to drool.  Intraoral devices (devices that fit into the mouth) that encourage better tongue positioning and swallowing are still being evaluated, but appear to reduce drooling for some children.

Drug Treatments

Oral medications such as diazepam, baclofen, dantrolene sodium, and tizanidine are usually used as the first line of treatment to relax stiff, contracted, or overactive muscles.  These drugs are easy to use, except that dosages high enough to be effective often have side effects, among them drowsiness, upset stomach, high blood pressure, and possible liver damage with long-term use.  Oral medications are most appropriate for children who need only mild reduction in muscle tone or who have widespread spasticity.

Doctors also sometimes use alcohol “washes” -- injections of alcohol into muscles -- to reduce spasticity.   The benefits last from a few months to 2 years or more, but the adverse effects include a significant risk of pain or numbness, and the procedure requires a high degree of skill to target the nerve.

The availability of new and more precise methods to deliver antispasmodic medications is moving treatment for spasticity toward chemodenervation, in which injected drugs are used to target and relax muscles. 

Botulinum toxin (BT-A), injected locally, has become a standard treatment for overactive muscles in children with spastic movement disorders such as cerebral palsy.  BT-A relaxes contracted muscles by keeping nerve cells from over-activating muscle.  Although BT-A is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating cerebral palsy, since the 1990s doctors have been using it off-label to relax spastic muscles.  A number of studies have shown that it reduces spasticity and increases the range of motion of the muscles it targets.

The relaxing effect of a BT-A injection lasts approximately 3 months.  Undesirable side effects are mild and short-lived, consisting of pain upon injection and occasionally mild flu-like symptoms.  BT-A injections are most effective when followed by a stretching program including physical therapy and splinting.    BT-A injections work best for children who have some control over their motor movements and have a limited number of muscles to treat, none of which is fixed or rigid.

Because BT-A does not have FDA approval to treat spasticity in children, parents and caregivers should make sure that the doctor giving the injection is trained in the procedure and has experience using it in children. 

Intrathecal baclofen therapy uses an implantable pump to deliver baclofen, a muscle relaxant, into the fluid surrounding the spinal cord.  Baclofen works by decreasing the excitability of nerve cells in the spinal cord, which then reduces muscle spasticity throughout the body.  Because it is delivered directly into the nervous system, the intrathecal dose of baclofen can be as low as one one-hundredth of the oral dose.  Studies have shown it reduces spasticity and pain and improves sleep.  

The pump is the size of a hockey puck and is implanted in the abdomen.  It contains a refillable reservoir connected to an alarm that beeps when the reservoir is low.  The pump is programmable with an electronic telemetry wand.  The program can be adjusted if muscle tone is worse at certain times of the day or night.   

The baclofen pump carries a small but significant risk of serious complications if it fails or is programmed incorrectly, if the catheter becomes twisted or kinked, or if the insertion site becomes infected.  Undesirable, but infrequent, side effects include overrelaxation of the muscles, sleepiness, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and constipation.

As a muscle-relaxing therapy, the baclofen pump is most appropriate for individuals with chronic, severe stiffness or uncontrolled muscle movement throughout the body.  Doctors have successfully implanted the pump in children as young as 3 years of age.

Surgery

Orthopedic surgery is often recommended when spasticity and stiffness are severe enough to make walking and moving about difficult or painful.  For many people with cerebral palsy, improving the appearance of how they walk – their gait – is also important.  A more upright gait with smoother transitions and foot placements is the primary goal for many children and young adults.

In the operating room, surgeons can lengthen muscles and tendons that are proportionately too short.  But first, they have to determine the specific muscles responsible for the gait abnormalities.  Finding these muscles can be difficult.  It takes more than 30 major muscles working at the right time using the right amount of force to walk two strides with a normal gait. A problem with any of those muscles can cause an abnormal gait. 

In addition, because the body makes natural adjustments to compensate for muscle imbalances, these adjustments could appear to be the problem, instead of a compensation.   In the past, doctors relied on clinical examination, observation of the gait, and the measurement of motion and spasticity to determine the muscles involved.  Now, doctors have a diagnostic technique known as gait analysis.

Gait analysis uses cameras that record how an individual walks, force plates that detect when and where feet touch the ground, a special recording technique that detects muscle activity (known as electromyography), and a computer program that gathers and analyzes the data to identify the problem muscles. Using gait analysis, doctors can precisely locate which muscles would benefit from surgery and how much improvement in gait can be expected.

The timing of orthopedic surgery has also changed in recent years.  Previously, orthopedic surgeons preferred to perform all of the necessary surgeries a child needed at the same time, usually between the ages of 7 and 10.  Because of the length of time spent in recovery, which was generally several months, doing them all at once shortened the amount of time a child spent in bed.  Now most of the surgical procedures can be done on an outpatient basis or with a short inpatient stay.  Children usually return to their normal lifestyle within a week.

Consequently, doctors think it is much better to stagger surgeries and perform them at times appropriate to a child’s age and level of motor development.  For example, spasticity in the upper leg muscles (the adductors), which causes a “scissor pattern” walk, is a major obstacle to normal gait.  The optimal age to correct this spasticity with adduction release surgery is 2 to 4 years of age.  On the other hand, the best time to perform surgery to lengthen the hamstrings or Achilles tendon is 7 to 8 years of age.  If adduction release surgery is delayed so that it can be performed at the same time as hamstring lengthening, the child will have learned to compensate for spasticity in the adductors.  By the time the hamstring surgery is performed, the child’s abnormal gait pattern could be so ingrained that it might not be easily corrected.      

With shorter recovery times and new, less invasive surgical techniques, doctors can schedule surgeries at times that take advantage of a child’s age and developmental abilities for the best possible result.  

Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is a surgical procedure recommended only for cases of severe spasticity when all of the more conservative treatments – physical therapy, oral medications, and intrathecal baclofen -- have failed to reduce spasticity or chronic pain.  In the procedure, a surgeon locates and selectively severs overactivated nerves at the base of the spinal column.

Because it reduces the amount of stimulation that reaches muscles via the nerves, SDR is most commonly used to relax muscles and decrease chronic pain in one or both of the lower or upper limbs.  It is also sometimes used to correct an overactive bladder.  Potential side effects include sensory loss, numbness, or uncomfortable sensations in limb areas once supplied by the severed nerve.

Even though the use of microsurgery techniques has refined the practice of SDR surgery, there is still controversy about how selective SDR actually is.  Some doctors have concerns since it is invasive and irreversible and may only achieve small improvements in function.  Although recent research has shown that combining SDR with physical therapy reduces spasticity in some children, particularly those with spastic diplegia, whether or not it improves gait or function has still not been proven.  Ongoing research continues to look at this surgery's effectiveness. 

Spinal cord stimulation was developed in the 1980s to treat spinal cord injury and other neurological conditions involving motor neurons.  An implanted electrode selectively stimulates nerves at the base of the spinal cord to inhibit and decrease nerve activity.   The effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of cerebral palsy has yet to be proven in clinical studies.  It is considered a treatment alternative only when other conservative or surgical treatments have been unsuccessful at relaxing muscles or relieving pain.    

Orthotic Devices

Orthotic devices – such as braces and splints – use external force to correct muscle abnormalities.  The technology of orthotics has advanced over the past 30 years from metal rods that hooked up to bulky orthopedic shoes, to appliances that are individually molded from high-temperature plastics for a precise fit.   Ankle-foot orthoses are frequently prescribed for children with spastic diplegia to prevent muscle contracture and to improve gait.  Splints are also used to correct spasticity in the hand muscles.

Assistive Technology

Devices that help individuals move about more easily and communicate successfully at home, at school, or in the workplace can help a child or adult with cerebral palsy overcome physical and communication limitations.   There are a number of devices that help individuals stand straight and walk, such as postural support or seating systems, open-front walkers, quadrapedal canes (lightweight metal canes with four feet), and gait poles.  Electric wheelchairs let more severely impaired adults and children move about successfully. 

The computer is probably the most dramatic example of a communication device that can make a big difference in the lives of people with cerebral palsy. Equipped with a computer and voice synthesizer, a child or adult with cerebral palsy can communicate successfully with others.   For example, a child who is unable to speak or write but can make head movements may be able to control a computer using a special light pointer that attaches to a headband.

Alternative Therapies

Therapeutic (subthreshold) electrical stimulation, also called neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NES), pulses electricity into the motor nerves to stimulate contraction in selective muscle groups.  Many studies have demonstrated that NES appears to increase range of motion and muscular strength. 

Threshold electrical stimulation, which involves the application of electrical stimulation at an intensity too low to stimulate muscle contraction, is a controversial therapy.  Studies have not been able to demonstrate its effectiveness or any significant improvement with its use. 

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy.  Some children have cerebral palsy as the result of brain damage from oxygen deprivation.  Proponents of hyperbaric oxygen therapy propose that the brain tissue surrounding the damaged area can be “awakened” by forcing high concentrations of oxygen into the body under greater than atmospheric pressure. 

A recent study compared a group of children who received no hyperbaric treatment to a group that received 40 treatments over 8 weeks.  On every measure of function (gross motor, cognitive, communication, and memory) at the end of 2 months of treatment and after a further 3 months of followup, the two groups were identical in outcome.  There was no added benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Are There Treatments for Other Conditions Associated with Cerebral Palsy?

Epilepsy.  Twenty to 40 percent of children with mental retardation and cerebral palsy also have epilepsy.  Doctors usually prescribe medications to control seizures.  The classic medications for this purpose are phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine, and valproate.  Although these drugs generally are effective in controlling seizures, their use is hampered by harmful or unpleasant side effects.

Treatment for epilepsy has advanced significantly with the development of new medications that have fewer side effects.  These drugs include felbamate, gabapentin, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, tiagabine, topiramate, vigabatrin, and zonisamide.

In general, drugs are prescribed based on the type of seizures an individual experiences, since no one drug controls all types. Some individuals may need a combination of two or more drugs to achieve good seizure control.

Incontinence.  Medical treatments for incontinence include special exercises, biofeedback, prescription drugs, surgery, or surgically implanted devices to replace or aid muscles. Specially designed absorbent undergarments can also be used to protect against accidental leaks.  

Osteopenia.  Children with cerebral palsy who aren’t able to walk risk developing poor bone density (osteopenia), which makes them more likely to break bones.  In a study of older Americans funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a family of drugs called bisphosphonates, which was recently approved by the FDA to treat mineral loss in elderly patients, also appeared to increase bone mineral density.  Doctors may choose to selectively prescribe the drug off-label to children to prevent osteopenia.  

Pain.   Pain can be a problem for people with cerebral palsy due to spastic muscles and the stress and strain on parts of the body that are compensating for muscle abnormalities.  Some individuals may also have frequent and irregular muscle spasms that can’t be predicted or medicated in advance.

Doctors often prescribe diazepam to reduce the pain associated with muscle spasms, but it’s not known exactly how the drug works to interfere with pain signals.  The drug gabapentin has been used successfully to decrease the severity and frequency of painful spasms.  BT-A injections have also been shown to decrease spasticity and pain, and are commonly given under anesthesia to avoid the pain associated with the injections.  Intrathecal baclofen has shown good results in reducing pain, but its delivery is invasive, time intensive, and expensive.

Some children and adults have been able to decrease pain by using noninvasive and drug-free interventions such as distraction, relaxation training, biofeedback, and therapeutic massage.

Do Adults with Cerebral Palsy Face Special Health Challenges?

Before the mid-twentieth century, few children with cerebral palsy survived to adulthood.  Now, because of improvements in medical care, rehabilitation, and assistive technologies, 65 to 90 percent of children with cerebral palsy live into their adult years.    This increase in life expectancy is often accompanied by a rise in medical and functional problems – some of them beginning at a relatively early age – including the following:

Premature aging.  The majority of individuals with cerebral palsy will experience some form of premature aging by the time they reach their 40s because of the extra stress and strain the disease puts upon their bodies.  The developmental delays that often accompany cerebral palsy keep some organ systems from developing to their full capacity and level of performance.  As a consequence, organ systems such as the cardiovascular system (the heart, veins, and arteries) and pulmonary system (lungs) have to work harder and they age prematurely.

Functional issues at work.  The day-to-day challenges of the workplace are likely to increase as an employed individual with cerebral palsy reaches middle age.  Some individuals will be able to continue working with accommodations such as an adjusted work schedule, assistive equipment, or frequent rest periods.   Early retirement may be necessary for others.

Depression.  Mental health issues can also be of concern as someone with cerebral palsy grows older.  The rate of depression is three to four times higher in people with disabilities such as cerebral palsy.  It appears to be related not so much to the severity of their disabilities, but to how well they cope with them.  The amount of emotional support someone has, how successful they are at coping with disappointment and stress, and whether or not they have an optimistic outlook about the future all have a significant impact on mental health.      

Post-impairment syndrome.  Most adults with cerebral palsy experience what is called post-impairment syndrome, a combination of pain, fatigue, and weakness due to muscle abnormalities, bone deformities, overuse syndromes (sometimes also called repetitive motion injuries), and arthritis.   Fatigue is often a challenge, since individuals with cerebral palsy use three to five times the amount of energy that able-bodied people use when they walk and move about.  

Osteoarthritis and degenerative arthritis.  Musculoskeletal abnormalities that may not produce discomfort during childhood can cause pain in adulthood.  For example, the abnormal relationships between joint surfaces and excessive joint compression can lead to the early development of painful osteoarthritis and degenerative arthritis.  Individuals with cerebral palsy also have limited strength and restricted patterns of movement, which puts them at risk for overuse syndromes and nerve entrapments.

Pain.   Issues related to pain often go unrecognized by health care providers since individuals with cerebral palsy may not be able to describe the extent or location of their pain.  Pain can be acute or chronic, and is experienced most commonly in the hips, knees, ankles, and the upper and lower back.  Individuals with spastic cerebral palsy have an increased number of painful sites and worse pain than those with other types of cerebral palsy.  The best treatment for pain due to musculoskeletal abnormalities is preventive – correcting skeletal and muscle abnormalities early in life to avoid the progressive accumulation of stress and strain that causes pain.  Dislocated hips, which are particularly likely to cause pain, can be surgically repaired.   If it is managed properly, pain does not have to become a chronic condition.

Other medical conditions.  Adults have higher than normal rates of other medical conditions secondary to their cerebral palsy, such as hypertension, incontinence, bladder dysfunction, and swallowing difficulties.  Curvature of the spine (scoliosis) is likely to progress after puberty, when bones have matured into their final shape and size.  People with cerebral palsy also have a higher incidence of bone fractures, occurring most frequently during physical therapy sessions.  A combination of mouth breathing, poor hygiene, and abnormalities in tooth enamel increase the risk of cavities and periodontal disease.   Twenty-five percent to 39 percent of adults with cerebral palsy have vision problems; eight to 18 percent have hearing problems.

Because of their unique medical situations, adults with cerebral palsy benefit from regular visits to their doctor and ongoing evaluation of their physical status.  It is important to evaluate physical complaints to make sure they are not the result of underlying conditions.  For example, adults with cerebral palsy are likely to experience fatigue, but fatigue can also be due to undiagnosed medical problems that could be treated and reversed.

Because many individuals with cerebral palsy outlive their primary caregiver, the issue of long-term care and support should be taken into account and planned for.

What Research Is Being Done?

Investigators from many fields of medicine and health are using their expertise to help improve the treatment and diagnosis of cerebral palsy.  Much of their work is supported through the NINDS, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), other agencies within the federal government, nonprofit groups such as the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation, and other private institutions.

The ultimate hope for curing cerebral palsy rests with prevention. In order to prevent cerebral palsy, however, scientists have to understand normal fetal brain development so that they can understand what happens when a baby’s brain develops abnormally. 

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. Some of these cells specialize to become brain cells, and then specialize even further into particular types of neurons that travel to their appropriate place in the brain (a process that scientists call neuronal migration).  Once they are in the right place, they establish connections with other brain cells.  This is how the brain develops and becomes able to communicate with the rest of the body -- through overlapping neural circuits made up of billions of interconnected and interdependent neurons.

Many scientists now think that a significant number of children develop cerebral palsy because of mishaps early in brain development. They are examining how brain cells specialize and form the right connections, and they are looking for ways to prevent the factors that disrupt the normal processes of brain development.

Genetic defects are sometimes responsible for the brain malformations and abnormalities that cause cerebral palsy.  Scientists funded by the NINDS 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 – primarily those associated with abnormal neuronal migration. 

Scientists are scrutinizing events in 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.  For example, research has shown that bleeding in the brain unleashes dangerously high amounts of a brain chemical called glutamate.   Although glutamate is necessary in the brain to help neurons communicate, too much glutamate overexcites and kills neurons. Scientists are now looking closely at glutamate to detect how its release harms brain tissue.  By learning how brain chemicals that are normally helpful become dangerously toxic, scientists will have opportunities to develop new drugs to block their harmful effects.

Scientists funded by the NINDS are also investigating whether substances in the brain that protect neurons from damage, called neurotrophins, could be used to prevent brain damage as a result of stroke or oxygen deprivation.  Understanding how these neuroprotective substances act would allow scientists to develop synthetic neurotrophins that could be given immediately after injury to prevent neuron death and damage.

The relationship between uterine infections during pregnancy and the risk of cerebral palsy continues to be studied by researchers funded by the NIH.  There is 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.  By understanding what cytokines do in the fetal brain and the type of damage these immune system cells cause, researchers have the potential to develop medications that could be given to mothers with uterine infections to prevent brain damage in their unborn children. 

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.   A particular type of damage to the white matter of the brain, called periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), is the predominant form of brain injury in premature infants.  NINDS-sponsored researchers studying PVL 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.

Although congenital cerebral palsy is a condition that is present at birth, a year or two can pass before any disabilities are noticed.  Researchers have shown that the earlier rehabilitative treatment begins, the better the outcome for children with cerebral palsy.  But an early diagnosis is hampered by the lack of diagnostic techniques to identify brain damage or abnormalities in infants. 

Research funded by the NINDS is using imaging techniques, devices that measure electrical activity in the brain, and neurobehavioral tests to predict those preterm infants who will develop cerebral palsy.  If these screening techniques are successful, doctors will be able to identify infants at risk for cerebral palsy before they are born.        

Noninvasive methods to record the brain activity of unborn babies in the womb and to identify those with brain damage or abnormalities would also be a valuable addition to the diagnostic tool kit.  Another NINDS-funded study focuses on the development of fetal magnetoencephalography (fMEG) – a technology that would allow doctors to look for abnormalities in fetal brain activity.

Epidemiological studies – studies that look at the distribution and causes of disease among people -- help scientists understand risk factors and outcomes for particular diseases and medical conditions.  Researchers have established that preterm birth (when a baby is born before 32 weeks’ gestation) is the highest risk factor for cerebral palsy.  Consequently, the increasing rate of premature births in the United States puts more babies at risk.  A large, long-term study funded by the NIH is following a group of more than 400 mothers and their infants born between 24 and 31 weeks’ gestation.  They are looking for relationships between preterm birth, maternal uterine infection, fetal exposure to infection, and short-term and long-term health and neurological outcomes.  The researchers are hoping to discover environmental or lifestyle factors, or particular characteristics of mothers, which might protect preterm babies from neurological disabilities.     

While this research offers hope for preventing cerebral palsy in the future, ongoing research to improve treatment brightens the outlook for those who must face the challenges of cerebral palsy today. An important thrust of such research is the evaluation of treatments already in use so that physicians and parents have valid information to help them choose the best therapy. A good example of this effort is an ongoing NINDS-supported study that promises to yield new information about which patients are most likely to benefit from selective dorsal rhizotomy, a surgical technique that is increasingly being used to reduce spasticity (see Surgery).

Similarly, although physical therapy programs are used almost universally to rehabilitate children with cerebral palsy, there are no definitive studies to indicate which techniques work best.  For example, constraint-induced therapy (CIT) is a type of physical therapy that has been used successfully with adult stroke survivors and individuals who have traumatic brain injury and are left with a weak or disabled arm on one side of the body.  The therapy involves restraining the stronger arm in a cast and forcing the weaker arm to perform 6 hours of intensive “shaping” activities every day over the course of 3 weeks.  The researchers who conducted the clinical trials in adult stroke survivors realized CIT’s potential for strengthening children’s arms weakened by cerebral palsy. 

In a randomized, controlled study of children with cerebral palsy funded by the NIH, researchers put one group of children through conventional physical therapy and another group through 21 consecutive days of CIT.   Researchers looked for evidence of improvement in the movement and function of the disabled arm, whether the improvement lasted after the end of treatment, and if it was associated with significant gains in other areas, such as trunk control, mobility, communication, and self-help skills. 

Children receiving CIT outperformed the children receiving conventional physical therapy across all measures of success, including how well they could move their arms after therapy and their ability to do new tasks during the study and then at home with their families.  Six months later they still had better control of their arm.  The results from this study are the first to prove the benefits of a physical therapy.  Additional research to determine the optimal length and intensity of CIT will allow doctors to add this therapy to the cerebral palsy treatment toolbox. 

Studies have shown that functional electrical stimulation is an effective way to target and strengthen spastic muscles, but the method of delivering the electrical pulses requires expensive, bulky devices implanted by a surgeon, or skin surface stimulation applied by a trained therapist.  NINDS-funded researchers have developed a high-tech method that does away with the bulky apparatus and lead wires by using a hypodermic needle to inject microscopic wireless devices into specific muscles or nerves.  The devices are powered by a telemetry wand that can direct the number and strength of their pulses by remote control.  The device has been used to activate and strengthen muscles in the hand, shoulder, and ankle in people with cerebral palsy as well as in stroke survivors.   

As researchers continue to explore new treatments for cerebral palsy and to expand our knowledge of brain development, we can expect significant improvements in the care of children with cerebral palsy and many other disorders that strike in early life.