YOUR CHILD HAS CEREBRAL PALSY
YOU DESERVE HELP, ADVICE & BENEFITS

TREATMENTS

There is no standard therapy that works for all patients. Drugs can be used to control seizures and muscle spasms, special braces can compensate for muscle imbalance.

Surgery, mechanical aids to help overcome impairments, counseling for emotional and psychological needs, early education, technology, and physical, occupational, speech, and behavioral therapy may be employed.

Early identification of cerebral palsy can lessen developmental problems and lead to appropriate intervention when it helps the most. Early intervention programs are family-centered in which professionals and families work together with the child in specific activities.

ANTICONVULSANTS FOR CEREBRAL PALSY

Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term used to cover many different neurological disorders in very young children. It's thought to occur in three babies out of every 1,000 born.

No matter which disorder the child specifically has, they are all incurable and greatly hamper the child's quality of life, mainly through lack of coordination and through seizures. But the symptoms can be managed with anticonvulsants for cerebral palsy.

HOW DO THEY WORK?

Anticonvulsants for cerebral palsy work directly on the brain, hoping to calm down the overactive brain chemistry that is causing the body to go into seizures or tremors. They are similar to how anticonvulsants for epileptics work.

A seizure has often been described as "a thunderstorm of the brain". A lot of sudden flashes of electrical activity occurs, sending an overwhelming amount of messages to nerves and muscles. The body, in not knowing how to respond to all of these conflicting messages, goes into a seizure.

Many anticonvulsants for cerebral palsy are muscle relaxants, so if the brain sends too many messages to move, the muscles will ignore it. Common cerebral palsy medications that fall into this category include baclofen, Valium (diazepam), dantrolene sodium, Flexeril (clyclobenzaprine) and Zanoflex (tizanidine). Medicine like baclofen also work to calm down the brain's thunderstorm as well as helping muscles to relax.

SIDE EFFECTS

Anticonvulsants for cerebral palsy are powerful medications which can interact badly with other medications and may cause side effects. The doctor or pediatrician needs to be aware of all medicines, vitamins, nutritional supplements or herbal treatments before deciding which medication to give.

The most common side effects of anticonvulsants for cerebral palsy are drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, loss of eye muscle coordination, gingivitis, irritability, confusion, skin rash and skin itchiness.

INJECTABLE TREATMENTS

Most anticonvulsants for cerebral palsy are in pill form. However, for short term relief, injections into the muscles are sometimes used. These are called phenol washes or alcohol washes, although it's best known as Botox.

This is to be used in conjunction with other treatments like physical therapy. This use of Botox is not FDA approved, so these injections are usually for extreme cases only or when surgery for cerebral palsy needs to be delayed for whatever reason.

Side effects also occur in injectable treatments. These include numbness at the injection site which can last weeks, stiffness in the muscle the injection was given in, skin rash, nausea, headache and flu-like body aches. The most severe side effects are difficulty speaking, breathing or swallowing and sudden muscle weakness. Call a hospital immediately should this happen.

DOPAMINERGIC MEDICINES

While the use of Dopaminergic medicines are primarily associated with accepted pharmacological treatment of parkinsons disease, certain of these drugs, Sinemet and Artane are considered valuable in the treat the abnormal movement of the legs, characteristic of cerebral palsy patients.   This is based in part on the successful use of these medications in treating restless leg syndrome.



For more information:

• Botox and cerebral palsy
  
• Athetoid Dopaminergic Medicines