Are all cerebral palsy types curable ?

Has your child been recently  diagnosed with cerebral palsy and you are wondering if certain cerebral palsy types are curable or not with any treatment?

Seeing your child struggle to perform daily activities is one of the saddest things for a parent. The pain of seeing your child struggle when gets clubbed with the fear about the future of your child generally leaves parents restless. 

The fear of who will take care of the child after them generally affects the mental well-being of the parents. While earlier this fear was for real as there was no treatment to reverse this disorder. Although doctors practicing conventional medical sciences still believe that there is no cure for cerebral palsy, it is not the case anymore.

To understand more about the treatment  in question, you should first know the type of cerebral palsy your child has. Accordingly, you can get your answer as which cerebral palsy types are curable? 

Yes! You heard it right with the advanced treatment approach of cell-based therapy you can reverse the cerebral palsy of your child. The amazing healing potential of the stem cells helps in reversing and repairing the damage caused to the brain that causes cerebral palsy.  

To visualize the healing and regenerative power of the stem cells, you should understand the role of stem cells in the human reproduction cycle.  Stem Cells are responsible for the growth and development of the embryo to a fetus and the development of a newborn to an adult. 

Stem cell therapy addresses the root cause of the cerebral palsy by healing the damaged part of the brain thereby accelerating the recovery of the kid. 

But before understanding how stem cells help in reversing cerebral palsy let us understand the different types of cerebral palsy.

What are the different cerebral palsy types?

Cerebral palsy is classified in spastic, ataxic, athetoid, hypotonic, and mixed cerebral palsy. The cerebral palsy is mainly divided into different types based on mobility limitations and affected body parts. 

Each type of cerebral palsy varies from the other in severity, symptoms, and treatment approach.

There are mainly five different types of cerebral palsy which are as follows:

Spastic cerebral palsy

Around 77% of all cases of cerebral palsy belong to this type of cerebral palsy. 

Spastic cerebral palsy is often referred to as hypertonic cerebral palsy because people having this type of cerebral palsy often experience extreme muscle tone and excessive, jerky movements or spasticity.

Spastic cerebral palsy is generally due to damage to the brain’s motor cortex. The brain cortex is mainly responsible for controlling voluntary movement.

In few cases, spastic cerebral palsy is caused due to damage to the pyramidal tracts which help in relaying signals to the muscles and brains. Since in this type of cerebral palsy the pyramidal tracts are involved, this type of cerebral palsy is also known as “pyramidal.”

Any damage to the left side of the motor cortex causes movement problems on the right side of the body, and vice versa.

Some of the common symptoms experienced by people having spastic cerebral palsy include:

• Uncontrolled movement of the limbs
• Repeated contracture of the muscles  
• A strange type of walking movement which is marked by a scissor-like movement of the knees in which the knees cross over each other while walking
• Stiffness of the body is caused due to body‘s inability to stretch
• Difficulty in balancing 

Athetoid cerebral palsy

Nearly 2.6% of children having cerebral palsy have athetoid cerebral palsy. 

Athetoid cerebral palsy is also known as non-spastic or dyskinetic cerebral palsy. People having this type of cerebral palsy often experience involuntary or uncontrolled movement in the face, torso, and limbs.

Athetoid cerebral palsy is marked by a sequence of hypotonia or loosened muscles which alternate with hypertonia or stiffened muscles which fluctuate the muscle tone frequently. 

Generally, Athetoid cerebral palsy is caused when the brain’s basal ganglia and/or cerebellum get damaged due to some injury. 

The basal ganglia play a crucial role in regulating the voluntary motor function of the body like the movement of the eyes. Whereas, the cerebellum controls balance and coordination.

`

Athetoid cerebral palsy does not affect the pyramidal pathway hence it is considered extrapyramidal. 

Some common symptoms of athetoid cerebral palsy are:

• Difficulty in eating
• Droopy limbs
• Difficulty in maintaining a posture
• The body either becomes either stiff or flaccid 

Ataxic cerebral palsy

Ataxic cerebral palsy is one of the rare types of cerebral palsy that affects around 2.4% of all people having cerebral palsy cases. 

Typically, people having ataxic cerebral palsy experience difficulty in coordination, balancing and voluntary movement.

Ataxic cerebral palsy is generally caused when the cerebellum gets damaged. The cerebellum is responsible for managing the physical movement of the body. Individuals having ataxic cerebral palsy often experience the following symptoms:

• Tremors
• Reduced muscle tone
• Difficulty in talking
• Poor muscle coordination
• Difficulty in perceiving certain parameters like depth of 3D objects
• Shakiness 
• Walking is difficult for them

Hypotonic cerebral palsy

Hypotonic cerebral palsy or atonic cerebral palsy affects about 2.6% of people having cerebral palsy. 

This type of cerebral palsy affects the strength and firmness of the muscles. The lack of firmness of the muscles can delay a child to achieve developmental goals such as crawling, standing, or walking.

Some of the common symptoms experienced by people having hypotonic cerebral palsy are:

• Over mobile joints
• Inability to control the movement of the head
• Muscles become flaccid
• Inability to balance 

Mixed type cerebral palsy

When cerebral palsy is caused because of damage to different parts of the brain it may result in mixed type cerebral palsy. 

In such cases, the individual may show symptoms of two or more types of cerebral palsy. 

Mixed-type cerebral palsy is the second most common type of cerebral palsy after spastic cerebral palsy. 

Since it is a mixture of two or more types of cerebral palsy its symptoms may vary.

How many types of cerebral palsy are there based on movement problems?

In the above content, we have understood the different types of cerebral palsy that may develop due to damage to certain areas of the brain. 

However, doctors also classify cerebral palsy based on the movement difficulties faced by people with cerebral palsy.

Based on the movement problems cerebral palsy can be divided into:

Monoplegia

Monoplegia is a rare type of movement problem faced by people with cerebral palsy. During monoplegia one arm or leg is affected.

Diplegia

Both sides of the limbs (commonly the lower limb) are affected in children having diplegia. Children having diplegia sometimes may experience mild movement issues in the upper body too. 

Diplegia is common among children who were delivered prematurely. 

Hemiplegia

As the name suggests hemiplegia affects an entire side of the body. Generally, the arm is affected to a greater extent than the leg. Prenatal or before birth brain bleeding can cause hemiplegia.

Triplegia

Triplegia usually occurs when the three limbs of the body are affected. People who have triplegia find it difficult to move because of the limbs affected.

Quadriplegia

Quadriplegia occurs when all four limbs (2 upper and 2 lower limbs) are affected. The legs are generally impacted more than the arms. Quadriplegia may cause limited control over facial muscles.

Double hemiplegia

In people having double hemiplegia, all four limbs are affected. However, one side of the limb is affected more than the other side of the limb.

After having an understanding of types of cerebral palsy, let’s now briefly understand the causes of cerebral palsy.

What causes cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy is the result of the following condition.

• Mothers got infected with some virus while she was pregnant.

• Foetal stroke can disrupt the blood supply to the foetus’s brain during pregnancy.

• Bleeding into the brain in the womb or sometimes when the baby is just born.

• Lack of oxygen to the child’s brain during labour or delivery.

• Severe infections in infants affect the brain

• Head injury during infancy

• Certain genetic disorders may cause cerebral palsy.

Let us now understand how the cerebral palsy is curable.

Is cerebral palsy curable?

Yes! By using advanced stem cell-based therapy you can get reverse cerebral palsy. 

However, you must understand that the stem cell procedure does not offer an instant cure but expedites the process of cerebral palsy reversal. 

Several studies state that stem cell therapy can reverse brain cell damage that is often associated as a cause of cerebral palsy.

When stem cells are injected into an individual it was found that it repairs and regenerates damaged brain cells that may have caused cerebral palsy. This property of stem cells acts as the basis of stem cell therapy-based treatment for reversing cerebral palsy. 

However, in a few cases, it might be a bit difficult to reverse cerebral palsy through cell-based therapy. In such cases, few additional therapies may also be required to bring your child towards normalcy.

In a few cases, where there are bone deformities, a surgery may also be additionally required to correct the deformities.

That is precisely the reason that not all kinds of cerebral palsies are curable with stem cell therapy alone. 

Cerebral palsies like spastic,  athetoid and ataxic is curable using stem cell therapy. However hypotonic and mixed cerebral palsy may require surgery along with stem cell therapy to correct any deformity of bones.

Typically, stem cell experts, who have given good results in treating cerebral palsy, will share the expected results and other modalities such protol, source of stem cell, number of cycles etc after analysing the reports in initial consultation.

How does stem cell therapy work to reverse cerebral palsy?

Human beings have been created by the union of the male and female gametes (egg and sperm). These gametes form an embryo which divides to form tissues and organs. 

But have you ever wondered how that single-cell embryo multiplies into different kinds of cell tissues to form an individual?  It is because the embryo is a stem cell and it is an innate ability of stem cells to divide into different kinds of cells. 

Additionally, it is the stem cells that also play a crucial role in producing different kinds of cells to form different organs in an individual.

After extensive study researchers have understood the functionality of stem cells. They further started using these capabilities to treat diseases like cerebral palsy which has been incurable so far. 

Stem cell therapy helps in repairing damaged brain tissues and thus controls what causes cerebral palsy.  

The richest source of stem cells in the human body is bone marrow. Hence, stem cell experts prefer to pick the stem cells from bone marrow.

However, you should also know that with age, the stem cells present in the body become less and also start losing their potency. 

What is the right time for you to initiate stem cell therapy for your child?

Stem cell therapy works better and faster if you initiate this therapy at an early stage. 

During the initial stage, the probability of healing damaged cells is greater. Also by initiating stem cell therapy at an early stage the child experiences mild symptoms associated with cerebral palsy. 

If your child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy, think of stem cell therapy, as the results from this treatment are better and faster when they get treated with this innovative treatment method at an early stage.

What are the factors you should consider before selecting a doctor for your stem cell treatment for cerebral palsy?

Since innovative cell-based therapy is a new procedure, only a handful of doctors and researchers practice it. 

These handfuls of stem cell practitioners have studied in detail this treatment procedure and hold expertise in performing this procedure. Since they specialise in this field they can deliver good results only in specific conditions. 

Therefore, you must ensure to choose a stem cell expert who has consistently delivered good results in cerebral palsy treatment.

Conclusion:

By understanding the different types of cerebral palsy you take the first step towards treatment because treatment for cerebral palsy varies based on its type. Once you understand the different types of cerebral palsy let us look for treatment alternatives available to fasten the reversal of cerebral palsy.

Stem cell therapy has emerged as a viable alternative that speeds up the treatment for cerebral palsy along with traditional treatment.

Although cell-based therapy can reverse cerebral palsy, parents must understand that the research about stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy is still in an early stage. 

We suggest you to consult your doctor and seek their opinion if stem cell therapy is helpful for your child or not.

FAQ: