Studies by many universities have found that high-dose intensive treatment is better for children with cerebral palsy

This discovery may have a profound impact on the treatment of children's movement disorders

Scientific findings support the benefits of pediatric CIMT.

Now, a study funded by the U.

"The new findings provided by CHAMP are actually useful for clinicians and families in choosing treatments that may have meaningful benefits for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy," Fralin Biomedical Research Institute distinguished research scholar , Virginia Tech (Virginia Tech) psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience professor Sharon Landesman Ramey (Sharon Landesman Ramey) said

The study focused on children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HCP), which is the most common neuromotor disorder in children

The research team included 118 children with HCP, aged 2 to 8, from Roanoke and Charlottesville, Virginia, and Columbus, Ohio

The form of CIMT therapy, called ACQUIREc, was developed by co-lead researchers Stephanie DeLuca and Ramey, who also led the Fralin Biomedical Research at the VTC Neuromotor Research Clinic with Karen Echols and other colleagues at the University of Alabama at Birmingham the

The Champion’s study found that a high-intensity treatment course of three hours a day, 5 days and 4 weeks a week, significantly improved upper arm and hand ability, although a lower dose of 30 hours per month (2.

This therapy can change the lives of children

"I can really see her brain changing," Xindli said

DeLuca knows these benefits and she has supervised the ACQUIRE treatment of more than 500 children

DeLuca is an associate professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the institute and Virginia Tech.

This study shows that parents who are concerned about the intensity of treatment and the use of casts should have nothing to worry about

"We have learned that even higher CIMT intensity and full-time casts are not stressful for parents, and children quickly adapt to the constraints," said Ai, a professor and director of the Occupational Therapy Department of the Ohio State University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

Richard Stevenson, professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia Children’s School of Children’s (UVA Children’s) and head of the Department of Neurodevelopmental Behavioral Pediatrics, welcomed the findings of this study and believed that it would be useful for the clinical treatment of these children.

This research has some unexpected findings

Warren Lo, a clinical professor of neurology and pediatrics at Ohio State University College of Medicine and Nationwide Children's Hospital, agrees
.

"In these children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, the speed and magnitude of changes are beyond what most pediatric neurologists think is possible," Lo said
.
"These findings may change our clinical understanding of the future growth potential of these children
.
"

Journal Reference :

1. Sharon Landesman Ramey, Stephanie C.
   DeLuca, Richard D.
   Stevenson, Mark Conaway, Amy R.
   Darragh, Warren Lo.
   Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy for Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized Trial .
   Pediatrics , 2021; e2020033878 DOI: 10.
   1542/peds.
   2020 -033878