Patients With Cerebral Palsy Get Much-Needed Help from Researchers

A team of Rice University seniors known as Helping Hands hopes to restore strength and flexibility to the hands and wrists of children with cerebral palsy using multiple force sensors and a digital dinosaur.

"These kids have a real problem with their hands," said Jenna Desmarais, a senior at Rice majoring in mechanical engineering. "The fingers and wrists are locked into a sort of claw-like position. Even after surgery to correct it, they need physical therapy to get stronger."

Hand Function in Teens With Cerebral Palsy Improved by PlayStation-Based System
Rutgers University engineers have modified a home video game, which has shown promise in improving hand function in teenagers with cerebral palsy.

The team's rehabilitation device, the Dino-Might, was inspired by their mentor, Gloria Gogola, a pediatric hand and upper-extremity surgeon at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Houston. She corrects the condition, known as spastic wrist flexion deformity, and restores wrist extension by surgically removing a tendon from the underside of the wrist and attaching it to the upper portion.

Source-Eurekalert

Brain Damage in Babies With Cerebral Palsy Prevented in Mice Study
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a protein may help prevent the kind of brain damage that occurs in babies with cerebral palsy.

Cerebral Palsy Kids May Benefit from Cell Transplants
A unique cell type that supports and surrounds (ensheathes) neurons within the nose (olfactory system) known as olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), possess

For Cerebral Palsy, Change The Environment And Not The Child
A successful new rehabilitation approach to treating children with cerebral palsy puts its focus on where a child lives and plays, not just improving