Reduced feedback - lower results

Nineteen children with spastic hemiplegic CP (nine males, 10 females; mean age 11y 7mo; range 8–16y) and 20 children with typical development (12 males, eight females; mean age 10y 8mo; range 8–14y) were assigned to 100% or reduced (62%) feedback subgroups as they practised 200 trials of a discrete arm movement with specific spatiotemporal parameters. Children with CP used their less involved hand. Learning was inferred by delayed (24h) retention and reacquisition tests.

All children improved in accuracy and consistency. Children with typical development demonstrated significantly greater accuracy than children with CP during acquisition (p=0.001), retention (p=0.031), and reacquisition (p=0.001), and greater consistency during retention (p=0.038). The typically developing group who received 100% feedback performed with significantly less error than the 62% feedback group during acquisition (p=0.001), and with greater retention (p=0.017). No statistically significant difference was found between feedback subgroups of children with CP, although the 100% feedback group consistently demonstrated less error.

via

Vision in CP

In addition to these numbers:

Close to half (49.8%) - visual impairment. 

Of these 

• strabismus 55.7%
• refractive errors 20.7%
• severe visual loss 18.9

via

Walking on uneven surface may improve knee flexion in stiff-knee walkers

Patients with cerebral palsy frequently experience foot dragging and tripping during walking due to reduced toe clearance mostly caused by a lack of adequate knee flexion in swing (stiff-knee gait). Walking on uneven surface has the potential to improve knee flexion in stiff-knee walkers.



Fulltext

Numbers about CP

• More than 1/2 of children with CP have bilateral spastic paraparesis (leg weakness)
• There are more boys born with Cerebral Palsy than girls (for every 100 girls there are 135 boys)
• About 1/2 of children with CP are born prematurely.
• 1 in 9 people with CP have features of Autism.
• 1 in 4 people with CP have epileptic seizures.
• 6 out of 10 people with CP have normal or superior intelligence.
• 1 in 11 children with CP are legally blind.
• About 3 of 10 children with CP have severe learning disabilities.
• 1 in 50 children with CP are deaf.
• 1 in 20 children with CP have tremor and ataxia.
• 1 in 3 children with CP cannot walk.
• 1 in 4 children with CP cannot feed or dress themselves

Tricycle for disabled children

The need of a tricycle for disabled children that are able to cycle is permanent. Several commercially available models are not comfortable, awkward, and non-ergonomic. The devise is to be safe, easy to climb and to get off, ergonomic, and designed for children.

Shabtai Hirshberg from School of Practical Engineering at Hadassah College Jerusalem designed this trike to encourage physical activity among kids suffering from neurological or muscular disorders. It is named A2B. When a child mounts the trike, stepping on the pedal locks the wheels, enabling the child to literally walk right into a seated position. The chest support keeps the child stabilized, and the whole trike can be customized to each child's needs.The gear based rear wheel makes it easy for the child to pedal since less force is required to drive the system. The entire steering shaft is cable driven so very small movements translate into larger ones.  

Now, I hope that Israel, known for its fast commercial implementation and economic stability (I mean the last weeks) will provide entrepreneurs for mass production  of the A2B.

Lack of statistics in the Middle East

On the last, 4th EEMCPDM conference that took place recently in Eilat (Israel) Dr. Goldstein mentioned the lack of statistical data on the CP and disability incidence in the Middle Eastern countries.
From my experience I can only confirm this. To my knowledge, the only country that its statistics and epidemiology is known, published in English and always available from the professionals is Israel.
Palestinian Authority published, also in the Internet, its comprehensive statistical report. As far as it is in Arab and I do not read in Arab I can not evaluate what is written there.
Only one peer-reviewed publication may be found in English about disabilities in Jordan.
My recent efforts to find some numbers on the situation in Egypt and Morroco were totally unsuccessful.
Once, my colleague from Jordan told that trying to found out the numbers and its yearly dynamics we found very interesting facts. Once, CP incidence was very-very low in Jordan. The children with CP just not survived. Then, several years ago the numbers increased to un-normally high (comparing to the European). The reason was some dissemination of the CP topic among MDs and PTs and massive mis-diagnosis.
If you need to make any calculations for these countries in order to conduct a clinical trial or market survey, or humanitarian action, you have no other way, but to base your calculations on the US or European statistics. On the other hand there is a wide field of challenges for epidemiological studies.

To Dr. Blum or not to Dr. Blum

Also from Russia.
Google told me - "Cerebral Palsy is curable". We know that it is. It can be cured, all is the matter of achieved success. But in Russian it sounds as if a CP child will become 'normally developed'.
The site is dedicated to Dr. Blum and his unique method of CP treatment. Dr. Blum works in Moscow in the Research Institute of Clinical Rehabilitation. He is also a PhD, professor, and head of Clinical Rehabilitation Department of Peoples' Friendship University of Russia . /On the English version of the University site the doctor's name is spelled like 'Yevgeniy E.Blyum'/.
Dr. Blum explains that all his developments are self-sponsored, that needs IP protection, meaning they are not published. Indeed, Pubmed has no one publication by Blum or Blyum. A search in Russian revealed no scientific publications, but a patent registered in Russia in 2001 and expired in 2007 on some improvement of premature-born's stay in an incubator. Then I searched among the US patents with no success.
Price of 1 month of treatment quoted on the Dr. Blum's site is 6,000 Euro. In Russian blogs I found that a 12-month course of CP treatment in the Blum's clinic costs 3000000 rubles (about 100,000 $US).
The treatment has three stages. The first stage includes the wash out of toxic drugs products from the body. I lost my interest at this point.