In this section you can see what new technologies are out there helping cerebral palsy patients for example different and new technologies. Like electronics and so forth.

Robot helps children with cerebral palsy

Most toys are there to help children have fun, but for one girl with cerebral palsy, a robot constructed out of Legos is helping to improve her condition.

The Vancouver Sun reports that this device is being used to teach 14-year-old Chelsea Hagan math and reading skills, as well as to improve her physical disabilities. The robot helps cerebral palsy patients like Hagan to better engage and participate.

"It gives them a chance to explore. They can explore their own environment, they can learn about different objects, different places," rehabilitation medicine professor Al Cook of the University of Alberta told the news source. "All those may seem like trivial things, but if you have no use of your hands, it's a difficult process to learn."

Children with cerebral palsy are often unable to move efficiently on their own, as the damage in their brain inhibits muscle development and causes spasticity and rigidity.

Hagan and other children who are being treated with this device control the robot by a remote attached to her wheelchair's computer. The robot recently taught the teenager the concept of length.

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Massage therapy benefits children with CP

Sun Yong of the Spastic Children's Association in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, says that parents or doctors can administer massages to help improve the child's motor skills.

"The simple massage techniques were originally for children aged 12 and below to relieve common illnesses like constipation, diarrhea, indigestion and fevers," Yong told the news source. "It was later discovered that it could also help children suffering from cerebral palsy."

The doctor also noted that the holistic practice had an advantage over Western techniques because there were no medicinal drugs involved. Because children with cerebral palsy often have difficulty eating, it can be much harder for them to swallow pills than it would be for a normal child.

This condition often occurs during birth, where complications can lead to deprivation of oxygen to the fetus' brain, which min turn causes irreparable brain damage. Symptoms of cerebral palsy include slow development in ters of motor skills and cognitive abilities.

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New development for Georgia's mental health services

A settlement between Georgia and the United States Justice Department may bring patients with cerebral palsy to community care centers rather than state mental hospitals, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).

If the settlement is approved by a federal judge, the state must rework its budget to allocate $15 million in 2011 and $62 million in 2012 towards mental health services, a spokesman for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities told the news source. The money will help fund local care centers for people suffering from cerebral palsy and other disorders.

"It addresses the needs of people who are currently institutionalized who don't need to be there," assistant attorney general for civil rights Thomas E. Perez told the news provider. He noted that moving patients into community care centers would cost an average of $127,000 less per person than if they were placed in a state mental hospital.

Further details of the agreement include providing 24-hour crisis service centers, statewide mobile teams and close to 40 new community centers, reports AJC.

Many patients suffering from cerebral palsy require full-time care, as the injury inhibits muscle development and makes walking, talking and eating very difficult.

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Colorado expo offers trial runs for medical equipment

Caring for a child with cerebral palsy can be very expensive for his or her family, and most necessary medical equipment is only available through websites or catalogues. For Colorado residents facing this costly problem, an upcoming expo offers an opportunity to test out equipment before purchasing it.

Because items like specialized wheelchairs are not readily available for trial runs, families often spend money without knowing if the equipment will even work for their children. The Colorado Pediatric Durable Medical Equipment Expo and Symposium will help parents make more educated purchasing decisions this weekend by letting children with cerebral palsy test out various products, reports the Denver Post.

Various items will be available for trial, including adaptive recreational products like customized tricycles, as well as wheelchairs donated by families. There will also be doctors available to provide information on different kinds of equipment to help parents decide which item is suitable for their child, according to the news provider.

Motorized wheelchairs can cost more than $30,000, the Post reports, which makes this weekend's educational expo extremely beneficial for those who are faced with a number of product options.

Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive neurological condition that occurs in one out of every 303 births, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Stanford study involving optogenetics may help cerebral palsy patients

Stanford University researchers have recently published a study on optogenetics, which may help muscle impairments related to cerebral palsy in the future.

In the most recent issue of Nature Magazine, Stanford scientists inserted an algae-based gene, which creates a light-sensitive protein, into experimental mice. According to the study, "particular wavelengths of light can trigger nerve activity in animals endowed with these proteins," which allows researchers to control the "firing patterns" of nerve cells.

This practice helps doctors to better understand the central nervous system and how they can help restore movement in a patient with cerebral palsy. While it is in the preliminary stages, researchers believe that it could lead to groundbreaking treatment options for muscle spasticity and other motor impairments.

A cuff emitting electrical stimulation to nerves has allowed some paralyzed patients to walk temporarily, however there are still some kinks in the study that the scientists must work out, such as muscles contracting at the wrong times.

Cerebral palsy is a condition often caused by a birth injury that affects muscle development, causing many children to walk or move improperly. Treatments for this condition include various forms of therapy including physical, occupational, sensory integration and drug therapy.

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3-D imaging helps doctors prescribe cerebral palsy treatments

A Michigan hospital is putting three-dimensional technology to use in the treatment of walking impairments in children with cerebral palsy.

At Shriners Hospital for Children, Douglas Barnes has his patients walk across the room on floor plates while a 3-D camera records their steps, according to WJRT. In the motion analysis lab, he examines hip, ankle and knee movements so that doctors can better choose the proper surgery or therapy.

"What we seek to do is to alter the appearance and the functionality of the walking pattern," Barnes told the news source.

As the doctor compares pre- and post-operative records, he notes that proceeding with a treatment without the use of the 3-D technology may be putting the child at risk.

"It may not include the appropriate procedures. It may add too many. It may not add enough," said Barnes.

For patients with cerebral palsy, walking can be very difficult because they suffer from stiff and contracted muscles, which prevents proper movement. This condition is often caused during birth by deprivation of oxygen to the baby's brain.

Many studies have found that children who are born prematurely are at a higher risk for cerebral palsy.

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Pony rides proving beneficial for cerebral palsy patients

An alternative therapy involving horses is helping children with cerebral palsy and autism improve their movements in Ohio.

According to WTVG, Mercy's Children's Hospital in Toledo has found success in their use of hippotherapy, which has children riding small horses with assistance at Timber Wolff Stables to improve their strength, balance, mobility and posture.

Physical therapist Tracey Lewis told the news source that they are seeing improvements in cerebral palsy patients at an accelerated pace, compared to other clinical therapies.

"Research has shown it provides 3,000 posture adjustments in a 30-minute session, something we can't repeat in the clinic, and that is part of its powerful benefit," Lewis said.

One parent says that she has seen a significant increase in her son's walking and speaking abilities, as well as his social skills, after one year of hippotherapy, reports WTVG.

Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive condition that affects a child's muscular abilities. Children who are affected suffer from muscle weakness and spasticity, and are often unable to move properly on their own.

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New device could help improve walking in cerebral palsy patients

Patients suffering from cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions will be able to test out a new device this week at a West Virginia clinic.

The Holzer Clinic in South Charlston is holding a free screening of the NESS L300 Foot Drop System, which aims to correct walking impairments caused by multiple sclerosis, stroke, brain injury and cerebral palsy, according to the Charlston Gazzette.

The wireless device is a cuff placed around the lower leg that stimulates the muscles, which helps to improve the patient's balance while walking.

"The NESS L300 accelerates and compliments traditional therapy," physical therapist Steve Summers commented in a press release. "By adopting the [system] as a standard of care, we hope to maximize patient rehabilitation."

Cerebral palsy is a series of neurological disorders that affect muscle development and movement. According to the March of Dimes, 70 to 80 percent of people with this condition experience muscle spasticity. This limits a patient's movement because it causes rigidity and spasms, which leads to difficulty walking.

Many studies have shown that babies born prematurely are at a higher risk for developing cerebral palsy, as their internal organs are not fully developed at the time of delivery

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Trinidad to get cerebral palsy center

Children with cerebral palsy will benefit from a new facility promised by Trinidad's Minister of the People and Social Development Glenn Ramadharsingh, according to the Trinidad Express.

The news source reports that the $12 million center will have an area devoted to cerebral palsy patients, with Ramadharsingh investing $5 million to treatments for the condition in the next five years.

"The worst disease that I have seen in my life is cerebral palsy and I am committed to do something about [it]," the minister said at a press conference. "If I can do something about this, then I would feel as if I have done something in social development."

While no location has been set for the Cerebral Palsy Resource Centre, Ramadharsingh noted that he is considering building in Central Trinidad because "it is easy to access by all."

Children in Trinidad and Tobago will greatly benefit from having the facility nearby, as American physical therapist Martin Carillo told the news source that doctors on the islands are not yet providing patients with this condition the best services and treatments.

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Innovative procedure allows children with cerebral palsy to walk

There is a new tendon-release procedure that helps children walk after suffering cerebral palsy. Many children with cerebral palsy are bound to a wheelchair because their muscles are so tight that their knees stay bent, according to ABC's local affiliate in Houston. A new procedure uses tiny pokes to loosen and lengthen tight tendons. Dr. David Yngve of the University of Texas-Medical Branch is the leader in developing this procedure. "It allows some of the tougher tightness to be cut and some of the muscle underneath can actually stretch out," he told the news source. Usually the muscles stretch out enough to allow the child to walk. Such was the case with Savannah Spencer, a little girl from Tennessee, who had the procedure done. "At the age of 10, for the first time in her life, she's able to independently stand up, walk across the room and do some things on her own," her mother, Tracey Spencer, said. Dr. Yngve has performed 300 of these minimally-invasive procedures and says that 90 percent of them have been successful. According to the March of Dimes, two to three children in every 1,000 have cerebral palsy.

This section was information found on http://www.unitednationalcerebralpalsylawyer.com

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