View clinical trials related to Cerebral Palsy.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to examine whether simple home-base aerobic exercise program have beneficial effect on walking abilities and balance performance in children with brain damage
The purpose of this study is to explore the connection between gait variability parameters and balance performance in children with physical disability
There are over 750,000 individuals in the U.S. with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Up to 46% of adults with CP report limited mobility in their communities. However, upper limb spasticity and problems with movement can make the independent use of a wheelchair difficult. Forty percent of individuals who desire mobility via electric wheelchairs are precluded from using them because of problems with upper limb function. No studies to date have produced devices that definitively improve mobility for these individuals. We will recruit 22 subjects with Spastic CP and 22 age and gender matched control subjects without apparent disability from advertisements, mailings, and outpatient clinics. Both a conventional joystick (MSJ) and a novel joystick that is customized for each subject will each be used six different computer screen tasks that simulate driving a wheelchair on a path. We will compare subjects and joysticks based on driving performance. Understanding problems with driving will help us to design joysticks and other assistive devices, not only for CP but for Traumatic Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, Parkinson's Disease, stroke, or a variety of other disabilities.
The purpose of this study is to compare movement variations before and after the loaded training, with kinematics, kinetics, and electromyography, in children with spastic diplegia and to further discuss mechanisms of the loaded training.
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a non-degenerative neuromuscular disease that can exist at or occur as a result of birth. Because of damage to one or more parts of the brain that control movement, an affected child cannot control his or her muscles normally. Prevalence of CP is similar worldwide, with pronounced severity in underdeveloped countries due to poor health and financial conditions. Research should be conducted to find methods of medical treatment to allow affected children to maintain or regain musculoskeletal functionality. Many children affected with CP spend much of their days restricted to a rigid wheelchair; limiting muscular and cognitive development, making it difficult to interact with their environment. The gap to be addressed by this study is to determine if a wheelchair that is based on the dynamics of human anatomy can allow enhanced function, while being adaptive to individual growth and development. At present, there is very little dynamic capability available in commercial wheelchairs to allow this mobility. A dynamic wheelchair system was recently designed and a small sample of able-bodied children has been tested in the chair. It is hypothesized that significant increases in functional mobility will be achieved in children with CP from the use of this novel wheelchair design.
A randomized control trial of bimanual training. The protocols have been developed at Columbia University to be child friendly and draws upon our experience since 1997 with constraint-induced movement therapy in children with cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders characterized by lack of coordination in the muscles, loss of movement, and speech disturbances. These disorders are caused by injuries to the brain that occur during fetal development or near the time of birth. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of high frequency, low magnitude vibration on bone and muscle in children with cerebral palsy.
This proposal is designed to achieve the following specific aims and will test the associated hypotheses: AIM 1: To compare walking ability, standing posture, gait initiation and functional standing and stepping of twenty children with typical development to that of twenty children with spastic diplegia or hemiplegia, CP. Hypotheses - Children with CP will demonstrate impaired coordination as compared to children of typical development. In addition, children with CP will demonstrate inappropriate foot contact area, decreased velocity and step length as compared to children of typical development. - Children with CP will demonstrate impaired postural control as compared to children of typical development. - Children with CP will demonstrate an impaired gait initiation motor program as compared to children with typical development. - Children with CP will take more time to complete the timed up and go test and demonstrate decreased reaching distances in the functional reach test as compared to children of typical development. AIM 2: Using a single-blinded, randomized, controlled study design, to assess the ability of a 12-week at-home electrical stimulation gait training program to improve walking ability, standing posture, gait initiation, functional standing and stepping, and satisfaction with walking ability for a group of 10 children with spastic diplegia or hemiplegia CP as compared to a group of 10 children with spastic diplegia or hemiplegia CP who undergo a 12-week at-home gait training program without electrical stimulation. Hypotheses - The ES gait training group will demonstrate improved joint coordination as compared to the group undergoing a gait training program without ES. The ES gait training group will demonstrate improved foot contact area, increased self-selected walking velocity and greater step length as compared to the group undergoing a gait training program without ES. - The ES gait training group will demonstrate improved postural control as compared to the group undergoing a gait training program without ES. - The ES gait training group will demonstrate improved gait initiation as compared to the gait training group without ES. - The ES gait training group will demonstrate decreased times on the Timed Up and Go and an increase in functional reach as compared to the group undergoing a gait training program without ES. - The ES gait training group will demonstrate greater satisfaction and self-perceived performance on everyday tasks related to walking function and posture as measured by the COPM compared to the group that undergoes a gait training program without ES.
The study is to evaluate the effectiveness of hyperbaric treatments and the potential longer-term effects in children between the ages of 3 and 8 years with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). One group will receive 100% oxygen and the other group will receive the equivalent of 21% oxygen (room air). The children will receive pre-treatment testing (baseline). After 40 experimental treatments are completed, the children will be retested at 0, 3, and 6 months to evaluate any changes.
The specific aims for this study are - 1. To determine the effect of GH on height, height velocity, body weight and lean body mass. This specific aim tests the hypothesis that GH significantly improves height, height velocity, weight, weight velocity and lean body mass in chronically ill children who have grown poorly despite adequate nutritional rehabilitation. 2. To determine the effect of GH on whole body protein turnover (WBPT), IGF-1 levels and on cytokines. This specific aim tests the hypothesis that chronically ill children have increased catabolism, caused by high levels of circulating cytokines and low levels of IGF-1, and that these abnormalities improve with GH treatment. 3. Evaluation of bone mineral density and bone turnover. This specific aim tests the hypothesis that bone density is low in chronically ill children secondary to increased osteoclast activity correlating with elevated cytokine levels. We hypothesize that the anabolic effects of growth hormone (GH) will improve the height and weight of chronically ill children who have failed to grow despite receiving adequate nutrition via gastrostomy tube or oral supplementation.