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October 6th is World Cerebral Palsy Day!
Wear green on October 6 to show your support for World Cerebral Palsy Day! Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability affecting children. Approximately 1 million Americans live with CP, and 24 million worldwide. That’s the same number of people who live in Australia!
Despite the high prevalence of CP, there remain large gaps in research for CP. For example, even though CP is typically caused by prenatal or perinatal stroke or brain hemorrhage, CP is often not diagnosed until a child is between 1-2 years old. Animal research indicates that early intervention is more effective than later on in life, which means that early diagnosis for CP is critical. Several research labs are developing methods to identify CP earlier in life.
Dr. Claudio Ferre, a former postdoctoral fellow in the Friel lab and Assistant Professor at Boston University, is working to understand how infants with and without CP develop motor skills. The Friel lab at the Burke Neurological Institute (BNI) is testing the efficacy of combining non-invasive brain stimulation with movement training to improve upper limb function in school aged kids with CP. We are also working with adults who have CP, testing the efficacy of reflex operant conditioning to improve spasticity.
Despite the fact that there are more adults living with CP than children, a large majority of CP research focuses on kids. At BNI we feel it’s important to bring high-quality adult CP research to Westchester County and are strive to find new therapies for both children and adults that are living with CP.
Together, we can renew hope for CP. To be contacted about future and upcoming clinical trials for CP at the Burke Neurologic Institute, please join our Research Registry.
This Thursday, October 6th, Go Green for World Cerebral Palsy Day!
