Cerebral palsy involves disturbances of the brain and nervous system functions that can often cause disturbances with motor functions, including spastic movements. In Sydney, Australia, doctors are performing a clinical trial with deep brain stimulation to treat these spastic movements. Though deep brain stimulation is not a cure for this aspect of cerebral palsy, the technique can make daily tasks much easier for people with cerebral palsy.
For example, doctors diagnosed Martha Siede with cerebral palsy as a baby, and she has been unable to eat or dress without help from someone else, according to Nambucca Guardian. Now, at age 36, Siede states that she notices a big difference with her involuntary movements, in that they are not as often as before she began treatment with deep brain stimulation.
The procedure includes doctors placing a pacemaker in the patient’s chest, with two wires that emit electric pulses to a specific place in the brain. Doctors have previously treated people with Parkinson’s disease and dystonia with the technique, but this is the first time that it has been used with cerebral palsy sufferers. If this technique succeeds, people with cerebral palsy have a renewed hope of living an independent life.
Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP—cerebral palsy attorney
