Cerebral Palsy — Stepping to Understand Lower Limb Impairments in Bilateral Cerebral Palsy
Citation(s)
Fowler EG, Staudt LA, Greenberg MB Lower-extremity selective voluntary motor control in patients with spastic cerebral palsy: increased distal motor impairment. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2010 Mar;52(3):264-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2009.03586.x.
Lepage C, Noreau L, Bernard PM Association between characteristics of locomotion and accomplishment of life habits in children with cerebral palsy. Phys Ther. 1998 May;78(5):458-69. doi: 10.1093/ptj/78.5.458.
Novak AC, Brouwer B Sagittal and frontal lower limb joint moments during stair ascent and descent in young and older adults. Gait Posture. 2011 Jan;33(1):54-60. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2010.09.024. Epub 2010 Oct 30.
Rose J Selective motor control in spastic cerebral palsy. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2009 Aug;51(8):578-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2009.03401.x. No abstract available.
Stepping to Understand Lower Limb Impairments in Bilateral Cerebral Palsy
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.