Athetoid Cerebral Palsy

As early as the mid 1800’s an English surgeon named William Little wrote the first medical descriptions and the first documentation and information on cerebral palsy. Little wrote of a puzzling disorder that affected children in the first years of life, causing stiff, spastic muscles in their legs and to a lesser degree, their arms. These children had difficulty grabbing objects and learning to crawl and walk. Their conditions did not improve as they grew up nor did it become worse. Their condition, which was called Little's disease for many years, is now known as spastic diplegia. It is one of several disorders that affect control of movement due to developmental brain injury. These conditions are grouped together under the term cerebral palsy.

However, in 1897 Sigmund Freud, world famous psychiatrist, disagreed with William Little and believed there was more than to it than Little’s information on cerebral palsy. Freud said that children with cerebral palsy were subject to other problems such as mental retardation, visual disturbances, and seizures. Freud believed that the condition’s root was during the brain’s development in the womb. Freud suggested that difficult birth was merely a symptom of deeper issues that influence fetal development. Freud’s observations were not highly regarded, as the belief that birth complications were the cause of cerebral palsy remained popular among families, physicians, and medical researchers up until two decades ago. Over the last century and a half doctors have built upon Little’s first observations as well as Freud’s astonishing theory and today, through science’s advancements, they have much more information on cerebral palsy.


Cerebral Palsy Ability Center in Washington DC
www.cpabilitycenter.org

Cerebral palsy is a broad term used to describe neurological condition that affects muscle coordination and body movement, unlike Down syndrome, it does not have a singular cause. Cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage occurring either during pregnancy, during delivery, or shortly after delivery. There are several different types of cerebral palsy, each classified by the way in which they affect the individual.

Depending on which areas of the brain have been damaged, one or more of the following may occur: muscle tightness or spasticity; involuntary movement; disturbance in gait (walk) or mobility, difficulty in swallowing and problems with speech. In addition, the following symptoms are sometimes associated with cerebral palsy: abnormal sensation and perception; impairment of sight, hearing or speech; seizures; and/or mental retardation. Other problems that may arise are difficulties in feeding, bladder and bowel control, problems with breathing because of postural difficulties, skin disorders because of pressure sores, and learning disabilities. Athetoid cerebral palsy is one of these types.


Jason is 10 years old and suffers from severe quadreplegic athetoid cerebral palsy. This means he has unnatural and uncontrollable muscle spasms and his body is very floppy. When he tries to move in any way his body becomes extremely stiff. Jason is an extremely intelligent child who is trapped in a body that doesn't work.

Athetoid cerebral palsy is a form of athetonia, which is marked by slow, writhing involuntary muscle movement. A mixed muscle tone where some are too high and others too low also characterize Athetoid cerebral palsy. ‘Cerebral’ means that the cause of difficulties lay in the brain, not the muscles as originally thought. In this case its refer as Damage to the basal ganglia which is located in the midbrain. ‘Palsy’ means having problems with movement and posture, or motor control impairment.

The United Cerebral Palsy Associations estimate that more than 500,000 Americans have Cerebral Palsy. Approximately 25 percent of cerebral palsy patients are affected by athetoid cerebral palsy. Athetoid cerebral palsy can also be referred to as dyskenetic cerebral palsy. The slow, writhing movements associated with athetoid cerebral palsy usually affect the hands, feet, arms, or legs. In some cases, athetoid cerebral palsy can affect the muscles of the face and tongue, causing grimacing and drooling. The involuntary and uncontrollable muscle tone fluctuations sometimes affect the whole body. The movement caused by athetoid cerebral palsy often increases during times of heightened emotional stress. Symptoms usually tend to disappear completely during sleep.

Several difficulties are common with athetoid cerebral palsy. The main cause for these problems is the muscles alternating between floppy and tense. Unwanted movements may be small or big, rapid, irregularly repetitive, random, or jerky. Athetoid cerebral palsy can also cause a person to appear restless and constantly moving, only being still when fully relaxed and sometimes only when asleep.

One difficulty caused by this fluctuation is the inability to hold posture. Children with athetoid cerebral palsy often have trouble holding their body in a steady, upright position for sitting or walking. This can delay, and even prevent the child from having any control over his or her mobility.

People with athetoid cerebral palsy often show a lot of movement in their face. Athetoid cerebral palsy can also affect speech. This condition is known as dysarthia. Speech is affected to a degree in every case of athetoid cerebral palsy because of difficulty controlling the tongue, breathing and vocal chords. Similarly, the person may experience difficulties with eating and drooling.

A person with athetoid cerebral palsy can also have difficulty holding onto an object, like a pencil or eating utensil, because of the mixed tone of muscles. Athetoid cerebral palsy can make a person work and concentrate harder than usual to get their hand to a certain spot, like scratching their nose. This is also concurrent with big, involuntary movements and is found through the entire body rather than being restricted to a certain area.

The treatment of athetoid cerebral palsy varies on the concentration of symptoms. It is important for physical therapy to begin soon after diagnosis is made. Daily range of motion exercises will help prevent muscles from growing weak and atrophied or rigidly fixed from contracture. For those suffering from dysarthia, speech therapy can help improve swallowing and communication. A speech therapist also can work with the child to learn to use special communication devices like computers with voice synthesizers.

Severe athetoid cerebral palsy is a strong form of athetonia. Approximately 10 to 20 percent of cerebral palsy patients are affected by severe athetoid cerebral palsy. Severe athetoid cerebral palsy treatments will vary on the severity of symptoms. In extreme cases the use of muscle relaxers and sedatives can ease muscle contractions to perform physical therapy. A more specialized team of physicians may be necessary to properly treat severe athetoid cerebral palsy.

Source http://www.cerebralpalsysource.com