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Tuesday, 18 September 2007 |
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Why is the History of Cerebral Palsy Important to Find a Cure? The history of cerebral palsy is dependent on the recognition of the condition. It is not a new disorder and has probably plagued mankind for centuries if not millennium. In 1861, Dr. William John Little, an orthopedic specialist, researched spastic diplegia in children. In his paper he described the neurological problem that inflicted children with stiff and sporadic muscles. He found that the disease did not improve with age nor did it worsen.
He reported that these inflicted children had difficulty with motor skills and had trouble grasping and walking. Sir William Osler, a British doctor coined the name for the disease, cerebral palsy, in the late 1800’s. Little believed that most instances of cerebral palsy happened at birth. Complicated deliveries in the birthing room caused oxygen depletion that would manifest itself into cerebral palsy.The damage of certain tissues in the brain because of the lack of oxygen would present itself with symptoms that would be determined as the disease. Sigmund Freud disagreed with Little by stating that the ailment happened in the womb and could be associated to mental retardation and other phenomena such as seizures and optical defects. Time and research proved Freud wrong and the idea that the birthing experience was the culprit spread throughout the medical community. During the 1980’s the government examined over 35,000 cases of cerebral palsy to find a link to the cause of this disease. No significant findings came out of that research. Birth trauma is still considered the greatest factor, but this incident alone did not explain a lot of the cases studied. Alternative methods are being introduced, if not to find a cure but to relieve some of the suffering that goes with ailment. Botox treatment is being used to increase muscle control in the facial area and to prevent drooling. Hyperbaric treatment is used in the birthing room to increase oxygen levels and saturate body tissues after birth. In the past thirty to forty years research has broadened the scope of knowledge about the cause and effect of cerebral palsy. The history of cerebral palsy has built upon previous research to dramatically enhance the search for a cure. The medical community continues to seek a cure and to relieve the suffering of thousands of children and adults with the affliction. |
