Infantile cerebral paralysis (ICP, cerebral palsy) – is a neurological disease, mainly manifested by motor (movement) disorders. This pathology has a common occurrence of about 2 cases per 1000 kids. Boys suffer from the disease 1.5-2 times more often than girls.
ICP can also be manifested by epilepsy , strabismus , mental retardation, visual impairment and other symptoms.
ICP diagnostics
ICP is diagnosed on the basis of clinical examination, functional research, and anamnesis. Doctors also take into account the reasons leading to cerebral paralysis, including those below:
- Prematurity (the most significant risk factor present in 50% of cases)
- Toxic brain damage
- Intrauterine infections (e.g. herpes virus)
- Ischemic (due to insufficient blood supply) damage to the brain
- Intrauterine hypoxia of the fetus
- Rhesus-conflict
- Traumatic brain injury
ICP has a very peculiar feature – unlike many other illnesses its symptoms do not progress. Thus, a child doesn’t get worse as well as better.
MRI is one of the most informative techniques that helps a doctor diagnose the illness. It helps differentiate ICP from some other pathologies that have similar manifestations, as well as to also find out the cause of the condition.
Treatment of ICP
ICP cannot be completely cured. Nevertheless, qualitative treatment helps to somehow compensate for congenital disorders. The earlier therapy is started, the better the results. In addition, novel stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy in Germany gives new hope.
The complex of medical measures is selected individually, proceeding from the patient's condition, his age, clinical form of cerebral palsy.
A spastic form is the most common (40% of all clinical cases), but there are also other types such as:
- Hemiparetic
- Atonic-astatic
- Hyperkinetic
- Double hemiplegia
Surgical interventions can be applied in certain cases. For example, if the hip muscles are hypertonic and the child’s legs are crossed, some of the fibers of these muscles are intersected. This allows the patient to walk. Operations are carried out in limited cases, not earlier when a kid is 5-7 years old if other methods have not given any result.
Conservative methods of treatment are:
- Training sessions . There are a number of training techniques developed by specialists from different countries. These are methods of Frohlich, V444ojt, Cabot, Blum gymnastics. Exercises on the special simulators, exoskeletons, in the pool are used as well. All methods are aimed at partial compensation of motor disorders.
- External influences on the body such as balneotherapy, massage, electro muscular stimulation, and other methods of physiotherapy are used. In some cases, medicines are also applied.
- Pedagogical training includes classes with a speech therapist, teaching the patient an independent life in conditions of limited ability to work, occupational therapy, psychotherapy, and various exercises for the development of intelligence.
In specialized German clinics, a new type of treatment for cerebral palsy is also carried out, i.e. stem cell therapy. All organs of the human body are formed from stem cells, so their additional administration improves brain function and restores damaged nerve endings. After stem cell treatment in Germany, children's muscle tone decreases, convulsions disappear, vision and fine motor skills of the hands improve. Thanks to this, little patients are able to walk better and use tablets or touch phones.
Cord blood stem cells are used for treatment; they can be donor ones or pre-preserved cells of the child himself. The drug is administered intravenously, in a day hospital. The sooner doctors start a course of treatment, the higher its expected effectiveness, since in young children the brain is more plastic and develops more actively.
How can cerebral palsy be treated with stem cells?
Cerebral palsy stem cell therapy in Germany started as early as a decade ago. Numerous international clinical trials have demonstrated that processed stem cells contribute to myelination of the nerve endings lesions, restoration of damaged oligodendrocytes and neural cells, as well as the enhancement of neuroprotection and neuroregeneration.
Mesenchymal stem cells are the most suitable for the procedure. Unlike other types of stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells can be extracted from a small amount of a patient's bone marrow and cultivated in the laboratory. In addition, mesenchymal cells have high proliferative and neuroregenerative potential.
What is the cost of stem cell treatment for cerebral palsy? This depends on the peculiarities of the procedure in the particular patient. These include the age of the patient, form of the disease and severity of functional disorders, type, and source of stem cells, number of the required procedures, etc.
It should be mentioned that the stem cell treatment for CP in Germany is never performed on its own. In order to receive the best possible functional result, the introduction of the cell preparation is followed by rehabilitation. Proper rehabilitation measures stimulate nerve endings and muscles, as well as to restore the ability to move normally.
Rehabilitation in Germany
Rehabilitation of patients living with ICP is a long and complicated process. Its goal is to adapt a child to interact with the outside world, restore mobility to the maximum extent possible, correct speech and other skills.
The child in the process of qualitatively carrying out rehabilitation should learn the following things:
- Walk on a level surface
- Walk up the stairs
- Take a shower
- Eat
- Move items or otherwise interact with them
- Use the toilet
- Dress, including the lower body parts
- To make decisions
- To perceive and remember new information
- Speak
- Interact with other people
Rehabilitation in Germany is qualitative and comfortable for the patient. You can get very good results from ICP treatment in Germany.
Here are some benefits of rehabilitation in Germany:
- High efficiency of rehabilitation measures
- Good technological equipment of the hospitals (recovery methods are available here, which you will not find in medical institutions of countries with a low level of healthcare)
- Experienced personnel (highly qualified doctors work in Germany, which accept patients from all over the world)
- Living conditions in medical centers that are comfortable for both, child and parents.
German hospitals
Germany has a lot of special centers where you can have rehabilitation with ICP. These are some of them:
- Bavaria Cszkewitz Rehabilitation clinic . There is a department of neuropediatrics and neurology. Here, specialists are engaged in the treatment and rehabilitation of children with various diseases of the central nervous system, including cerebral palsy.
- HELIOS Klinik Geesthacht successfully conducts neurological child rehabilitation of any age and young people before the age of 35. All patients are accepted, regardless of when the brain pathology was diagnosed and for how long the course of the disease is. Thirty-two family wards are equipped for a comfortable stay.
- St. Mauritius Therapieklinik has a department of neuropediatrics within its functioning borders. Here the rehabilitation of children of all ages with congenital or acquired neurological diseases is provided. The clinic uses the most modern rehabilitation technologies.
How to apply for stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy and rehabilitation in Germany?
In order not to worry about the organizational issues of rehabilitation in German hospitals, you can use the online platform Booking Health . For many years we have been involved in booking treatment abroad.
Here's how it works:
- You leave the request on our website or choose a hospital independently.
- Our service manager chooses a hospital and a suitable rehabilitation program for you.
- If you have chosen a program on your own, our specialist will check if it’s suitable for your diagnosis.
- We will get back to you so you can arrange all the details of the treatment at the chosen hospital.
Cooperation with the BookingHealth company has many advantages. Here are the main ones:
- You save up to 70% on treatment abroad.
- You get good insurance that covers all unexpected medical expenses during treatment (for example, in case of complications) and within 48 months after.
- You get an opportunity to consult with your doctor for 3 months for free after the treatment course is completed.
Besides, we will take care of all the organizational issues such as translation of medical documentation; organization of admission to the hospital; visa processing, airline tickets, and hotels, transfer from the airport to the hospital. Using Booking Health, you do not have to think about the little things, you can fully concentrate on rehabilitation.
