|
|
Deadly Poison Gives New Life To Children With Cerebral Palsy
Children with crippling cerebral palsy are actually standing, walking, and using their arms and hands thanks to injections of a normally deadly bacteria called Botox."This is a breakthrough treatment," declared Dr. Frank S. Pidcock, associate director of pediatric rehabilitation at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Pidcock told the enquirer he had treated nearly 300 children with Botox and 90 percent of them improved. In europe, too, doctors report remarkable results.
"This is the first treatment that can completely relieve spasticity" for children with cerebral palsy, said Dr. Petr Kanovsky, a neurologist at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic.
Every few months over three years, he injected Botox into the calves of 27 children who couldn't walk or stand upright due to cerebral palsy. Astonishingly, all 27 children showed improved muscle function with no side effects.
Ironically, Botox can be very deadly if used improperly. "But when Botox is injected in very minute amounts directly into muscles, children with cerebral palsy can dramatically improve their walking and fine motor skills," Dr. Pidcock said.
"The toxin weakens spastic muscles, relieves joints and enables freedom of movement with very low risk of side effects.
The children will never walk normally, but with consistent physical therapy, their walking and fine motor skills will improve and they'll enjoy increased endurance."
Each year 5,000 children in the United States are diagosed with cerebral palsy, an incurable condition caused by damage to the brain before birth or during the first two years of life.
For yougnsters with the condition, voluntary movements are very often difficult, sometimes impossible. Arms and legs, feet and hands move spastically and uncontrollably, if at all. Some joints are permanently immovable.
FDA-required clinical trials on Botox are getting under way- and some physicians are already using it.
"This is an exciting treatment. If I had a child with spasticity due to cerebral palsy, I would not hesitate to have the Botox treatments,"
Dr. Murray Goldstein, medical director of the of the United Cerebral Palsy Association, told The ENQUIRER.The treatment does not work well in adults with cerebral palsy because their joints and muscles have become permanently damaged.
If you have questions, or need a refferal, call the United Cerebral Palsy Association, 1-800-872-5827 or go to their Web site a www.ucpa.org
-Peter Davidson
ONE TEEN'S MIRACLE
The revoluntionary treatment worked a miracle for Cara Stout, a patient at Kennedy Krieger.
"Cara's doctors had given up. They felt she was the best she was going to be, but I wouldn't accept that," revealed her mother, Diana.
The teen was given 15 Botox injections in her left right legs.
"The results are amazing I feel like I have Brand-new legs." the 15 year old highschool junior from Hagerstown, Md., told The ENQUIRER. "It's easier for me to walk, my legs arre more flexible, my limp is gone, and I can touch my toes!"