Philadelphia Birth Injury Lawyer Blog

There may be hope for Philadelphia parents and their children born with cerebral palsy. A study is currently being conducted to test the effect cord blood has on cerebral palsy.

Doctors have injected 150 children suffering from cerebral palsy with their own umbilical cord blood cells in hope that the cells can repair some of the damage done by the birth defect. Doctors have already had success with cord blood when used to treat other neurological diseases but its use with cerebral palsy patients is still in its infancy.

One year after the infusion the children will be studied to see if there are any improvements in their neurological state or muscle movement. Doctors are optimistic that the treatment should benefit the children because of their work with cord blood in animals and with other diseases.

Related Sources:
Doctors Use Baby's Cord Blood to Treat Diseases

Prenatal health and care is important to every Philadelphia Pregnant woman and an important link between brain development and folic acid may have been forgotten about. Folic acid also known as vitamin B helps the fetal neural tube properly develop into the child's central nervous system.

According the March of Dimes, 70% of neural tube defects are preventable if folic acid is digested within the first few weeks of pregnancy when the neural tube is developing. Birth defects associated with a neural tube defect include spina bifida and anencephaly. Spina bifida occurs when some vertebrate are not fully formed, leaving the spinal cord open and unfused. If the hole is large enough the spinal cord may stick out from the bones. The deadly anencephaly occurs when the neural tube does not full develop into the cerebrum. The child will be born without an underdeveloped brain and major portions of the head and scalp may be missing.

Folic acid was once well known to be an important vitamin in prenatal care but fewer women know that now when compared with years ago. Some states, like Utah have begun to educate women on the importance of folic acid and distribute the vitamin to pregnant women in an attempt to decrease the amount of babies born with a neural tube defect.

Related Web Source:
Neural Tube Birth Defects on the Rise

Pregnant Philadelphia women have a new tool to assess whether their child may develop neurological or cognitive problems. Neurologists have reported that children born with small heads (microcephaly) may have a higher risk of developing cerebral palsy, epilepsy, cognitive delays, learning disabilities, mental retardation, and eye and ear disorders.

Each year almost 30,000 children in the United States are born with a head circumference smaller than that of 97 percent of children. The condition is referred to microcephaly in the medical community and can be diagnosed somewhere between birth and the age of two. While not a problem in and of itself, forty percent of children with microcephaly also have epilepsy, twenty percent also have cerebral palsy, 50 percent also have mental retardation and 20 to 50 percent also have eye and ear problems.

Parents of children with microcephaly should have their pediatricians observe and evaluate their children for possible neurological conditions. Diagnostic tests such as MRIs or CT scans may be used to test children for the neurological conditions associated with microcephaly. Microcephaly presents with serious conditions that may require a lifetime of care and treatment. The earlier a child is diagnosed with a neurological condition such as cerebral palsy, the sooner the proper care, treatment and resources can be obtained. Even if a small head circumference runs in your family it is important that your child is evaluated and tested. Fortunately, not all children with microcephaly will develop health issues or have learning disabilities.

Early diagnosing of cerebral palsy is important and beneficial to children and their parents for early intervention. Currently most children with cerebral palsy are not diagnosed until parents recognize that their children have failed to reach normal developmental milestones often somewhere between their first and third birthdays. However recognizing microcephaly in children at birth can better assist parents and doctors in early recognition and intervention. While there is no known cure for cerebral palsy there are many opportunities available to parents to assist and provide for the care and treatment their children's disabilities and treatment options. Whether your child suffers from spastic, athetoid, ataxic or mixed cerebral palsy early recognition with microcephaly at birth may assist in earlier diagnosis, care and treatment. In the future earlier recognition and assessment of neurological conditions in children will lead to earlier treatment interventions.

If you believe that your child suffers from cerebral palsy or other associated neurological conditions that may be the result of a doctor or hospital's negligence please contact our experienced attorneys today to discuss your case.

Related Web Sources:

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Some cerebral palsy patients are now improving their abilities to swallow through an unconventional treatment method.

The Vital Stim treatment method used primarily in assisting stroke victims with swallowing appears to help cerebral palsy patients with their abilities to speak and swallow. Using the Vital Stim method, a speech language pathologist used neuromuscular electrical stimulation along one child's throat and face. This noninvasive treatment is used for stimulation of the nerves along these parts of the body and to trigger muscles that are used when swallowing to help cerebral palsy victims with these body functions. On one reported patient, the pathologist uses the Vital Stim three times a week for as long as an hour. The pathologist reports that the stimulation appears to improve the patient's muscle tone and his speaking ability.

When Vital Stim treatments are conducted, a small electrical current is sent through the patient's nerves and muscles noninvasively.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a possible link between vaginal deliveries with operations and birth injuries.

In the study an operative vaginal delivery is when a physician uses forceps or a vacuum extraction to pull the baby through a birth canal. The study found that the risk of baby injury is at the highest level when both the forceps and the vacuum extraction methods are used. In addition, the baby in the delivery was found to be most likely hurt during birth, when the operative vaginal delivery is unsuccessful.

The study found that babies born with a cesarean section are no more greatly injured than babies born using forceps or vacuum extraction.

A new study shows that mother height and the weight of the child at the time of birth are correlated with birth injury. A recent study published in the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found a correlation between birth injuries and shorter mothers and fetal macrosomia.

The study looked at more than 14,000 births. Of these births, about 280 of them resulted in injuries of the babies. The babies who were born with injuries tended to be to women who were shorter in stature and had lower birthweights than normal. The main birth injuries that occurred during this time included brachial plexus injuries, shoulder dystocia and anal sphincter rupture in the mothers.

The study was conducted in a university hospital setting over a five-and-a-half-year period.

A new study of young cerebral palsy patients at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, found that a stimulation of the deep parts of the brain relieves dystonia symptoms. The hospital conducted deep brain stimulation in six patients who were eight to 26 years old and who each had a birth brain injury. After the study, doctors said the patients experienced improved dystonia scores, after deep brain stimulation. The children experienced the greatest improvement of cerebral palsy symptoms in their arms, according to one doctor involved with the study.

The study found that deep brain stimulation assisted with the youngest of patients more so than the older patients, probably due to the fact that older cerebral palsy patients experience more fixed impairments.

One thing to note about this study is that it was a small study of only six patients at one medical facility. However, the results do provide hope for many young cerebral palsy patients with low dystonia scores. Many physicians agree that more research is needed in this area before sweeping generalizations can be made about deep brain stimulation.

Three families are hopeful after seeing a decrease in cerebral palsy symptoms after their children's recent surgical procedures.

The three birth injury patients were recently operated upon at their local hospital. After the surgery, doctors announced that the treatment had been successful and that the families should expect improvement in their children's movement and muscle ability.

All three of the children are bed-ridden and need support to perform simple tasks. The first child, a six-year-old boy, could not walk or sit before the surgery. His parents are now seeing improvements in these areas. The second child is a class II student that had multiple deformities that were operated on. He will be undergoing physiotherapy to help with his cerebral palsy. The third child, a seven-year-old boy, was able to receive the free treatment after being accepted into a government school. Doctors claim that, due to the surgery, he should be able to walk soon. To the boy's father, the cerebral palsy treatment was a dream come true.

Engineers at MIT are in the process of developing robotic devices that can be used as a form of cerebral palsy treatment.

The robotic devices that are being built are designed to help those experiencing cerebral palsy symptoms. The devices allow birth injury patients to learn how to control their arms and legs. The engineers had originally designed the devices to help stroke patients but are now testing them on cerebral palsy patients. The suite of robots has been used in clinical trials for more than 15 years. The suite has helped patients with movement issues in their wrists, hands, ankles, shoulders and elbows.

The MIT engineers claim that the devices will help to rebuild brain connections that guide limbs when patients try to make a specific movement. Since children's brains are more plastic and able to establish new connections, the engineers have hope that the treatment will help.

The team of engineers is using the robotic devices to help cerebral palsy patients reach and grasp objects. The device is connected to a computer monitor that displays tasks for the patients.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a new warning for the use of Botox with cerebral palsy patients.

The new warning is an update to the 2008 safety warning issued by the FDA. This warning will now be added to the product label and patient information of all Botox products. The FDA said that the use of Botox in pediatric cerebral palsy and birth injury patients was never approved. It was also never approved to help those experiencing cerebral palsy symptoms such as spastic muscles.

Although the FDA had previously given the warning, Botox has recently become a widely accepted form of treatment for cerebral palsy patients. This form of treatment is often used at pediatric and orthopedic clinics around the country.

The new research provided by the FDA shows that the amount of botulinum toxin found in Botox can have drastic side effects on children. These side effects can include difficulty breathing, muscular weakness, drooping eyelids, speech disorder, difficulty swallowing, double vision and facial drooping. The FDA requests that all signs of these side effects should be reported to MedWatch.

A hospital is now giving cerebral palsy patients the opportunity to receive hyperbaric treatments for free.

In association with the Turtle Island Oxygen Trust, the Hyperbaric Medical Center in New Mexico is now offering free hyperbaric treatments to those who are suffering from cerebral palsy. Over the past few years, hyperbaric treatments have become increasingly popular for cerebral palsy patients.

Most 3rd parties do not reimburse birth injury patients for hyperbaric treatment unless the child is suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning or decompression sickness. After realizing this, the hospital decided to offer this form of cerebral palsy treatment for free. The free treatment is not only for cerebral palsy patients. It is also offered to those suffering from autism.

The director at the hospital feels that those who are experiencing cerebral palsy symptoms should not have to wait through a long application process to be accepted for treatment. He said that cerebral palsy patients are able to receive the treatment they need in a timely fashion. In order to receive the cerebral palsy treatment, patients need only to fill out a simple form before being accepted.

A young boy with a severe case of cerebral palsy was recently awarded a €5.2 million settlement for an injury he suffered at birth.

The boy, who lives in Dublin, Ireland, received a cerebral palsy diagnosis shortly after birth. He was awarded the settlement after claiming negligence against Dublin's Rotunda Hospital. The hospital denied that the negligence took place. They claimed that it was a liability issue and that nothing negligent occurred during the birth of the boy. The parents claimed that the boy was delivered by Caesarean section in a very poor condition and suffered severe physical and mental injuries. These injuries eventually led to the boy's cerebral palsy diagnosis. Due to this diagnosis, doctors claimed that the boy would never lead an independent life. They also claimed that the delivery should have been performed much earlier, since there were signs of fetal distress.

The judge claimed that it was not "an open- and shut- case" and he had no difficulty offering the boy the settlement for his sufferings. The awarded settlement will be used to pay for the boy's cerebral palsy treatment.

A five-year-old girl is attempting to overcome her cerebral palsy with the help of a physical therapist.

The young girl, who lives in Bismarck, North Dakota, first received a cerebral palsy diagnosis when she was 12 months old after suffering a birth injury. She suffers from spastic displegia, a disorder which affects the lower part of her body. Since she was 15 months old, the cerebral palsy patient has been doing stretches to help her lower left leg. For the past two years, the girl has used physical therapy as a form of cerebral palsy treatment.

While some cerebral palsy patients experience pain and mobility problems all over their bodies, the North Dakota girl only suffers from a mild form of the disease that affects her left leg. With the help of physical therapy, the girl is now able to ride a tricycle without straps. Her physical therapist has also noticed improvement in her overall strength and balance. He claimed that the girl is very determined and has a strong and positive attitude about her cerebral palsy treatment.

A 10-year-old boy who was involved in a recent medical malpractice lawsuit will receive a large settlement due to a birth injury he suffered.

The young boy, who lives in Scotland, was awarded the largest out-of-court settlement by the National Health Service for Scotland (NHS) in history. The boy was born at the Vale of Leven Hospital in Dunbartonshire, Scotland in 1998. He received a cerebral palsy diagnosis shortly after birth.

The parents of the young boy recently filed a lawsuit against the NHS in hopes of receiving compensation for cerebral palsy treatment. The family was awarded 5.2 million pounds in the lawsuit. According to the court, the settlement is meant to compensate for cerebral palsy treatment that the patient has received in the past and will receive in the future.

Over the past two years, medical malpractice incidents in Scotland have cost the NHS 36 million pounds for compensation. According to figures released by the Conservatives of Scotland, this period shows the NHS's highest amount of medical malpractice claims. In 2006 and 2007 alone, the NHS paid 21.4 million pounds to medical malpractice victims. In 2008, the total number of medical malpractice claims filed was 1,049.

A young girl who received a cerebral palsy diagnosis after a birth injury was awarded $4 million this week.

The 11-year-old Florida girl was diagnosed with cerebral palsy shortly after experiencing brain damage as a result of a delay in her delivery. The girl's mother was forced to wait hours to deliver while the hospital secured an operating room. The baby was born in 1997 at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The cerebral palsy lawsuit was filed by the parents of the young girl. The parents claimed that the negligence of the hospital delivering the baby caused the cerebral palsy and mental retardation. They claimed that a hospital room was not available for the C-section until hours after it was originally needed. Since then, the girl has had to receive extensive cerebral palsy treatment for her disorder.

The hospital claimed that the cerebral palsy diagnosis was not a result of negligence, but the premature delivery of the baby. The jury disagreed and ordered the hospital to pay $4 million in compensation to the cerebral palsy patient.