Brain Metabolism During A Lower Extremity Voluntary Movement Task in Children With Spastic Cerebral Palsy.

Reduced selective voluntary motor control (SVMC) is a primary impairment due to corticospinal tract (CST) injury in spastic cerebral palsy (CP). There are few studies of brain metabolism in CP and none have examined brain metabolism during a motor task. Nine children with bilateral spastic CP [Age: 6-11 years, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) Levels II-V] completed this study.

A novel method for determining sagittal pediatric patellar height with the Blumensaat-Epiphyseal Containment of the Knee Angle.

Unlabelled: Defining normal pediatric patellar height is complicated. Current methods use ratios calculated from lateral radiographs, but often provide inconsistent results and are time-consuming. It has been observed that the angle formed by Blumensaat's line and the distal femoral physis, when extended, form an area of patellar containment throughout a range of knee flexion.

Bone density in premenopausal women and men under 50 years of age with cerebral palsy.

Objective: To determine bone mineral density (BMD) z scores in adults with cerebral palsy (CP), an understudied population.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Medical facility.

Death after closed adolescent knee injury and popliteal artery occlusion: a case report and clinical review.

A healthy adolescent male soccer player sustained a radiograph-negative, effusion-negative physeal injury of the proximal tibia from a ground-level fall with traumatic occlusion of the popliteal artery. Orthopaedic evaluation and arteriography were delayed for 72 hours after the injury. He arrived at a tertiary referral center in multisystem organ failure secondary to lower extremity ischemic necrosis, septic pulmonary thromboembolism, and systemic shock.

Case reports: the influence of selective voluntary motor control on gait after hamstring lengthening surgery.

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests selective voluntary motor control (SVMC), defined as performance of isolated voluntary joint movement on request, may be an important factor affecting functional movement tasks. Individuals with poor SVMC are unable to dissociate hip and knee synergistic movement during the swing phase of gait and have difficulty extending their knee while the hip is flexing during terminal swing regardless of hamstring length. This pattern may limit their ability to take advantage of hamstring-lengthening surgery (HLS) and may explain a lack of improved stride length postoperatively.

Complementary and alternative methods in cerebral palsy.

There are no published studies specifically addressing complementary and alternative treatments in adults with cerebral palsy (CP). However, national surveys of adults with chronic disabilities document that a majority of them use such treatments, that they are willing to pay out of pocket, if necessary, and that they believe that pursuing such treatment relieves pain, reduces stress and anxiety, and leads to improved feelings of fitness and well-being. Individuals enjoy taking charge of their own health care decisions, and frequently feel more in control with these therapies than with more traditional methods.

Selective Control Assessment of the Lower Extremity (SCALE): development, validation, and interrater reliability of a clinical tool for patients with cerebral palsy.

Normal selective voluntary motor control (SVMC) can be defined as the ability to perform isolated joint movement without using mass flexor/extensor patterns or undesired movement at other joints, such as mirroring. SVMC is an important determinant of function, yet a valid, reliable assessment tool is lacking. The Selective Control Assessment of the Lower Extremity (SCALE) is a clinical tool developed to quantify SVMC in patients with cerebral palsy (CP).

The internet 2006.

Each year Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology (DMCN) invites the President Elect of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AAPCDM) to compose a guest editorial. As we mark the 60th anniversary of the Academy, I welcome the opportunity to make a few observations on the emergence of the internet as a medium that, within the space of two decades, has had an increasing influence upon both medical research and its dissemination throughout the world. Although the Academy's founding fathers certainly recognized that communication was the key to future progress, it is unlikely that they could have imagined what was ahead in terms of instantaneous information exchange or how that capability would promote collaboration at great distances, speed up the decoding of the human genome, and empower patients with information that previously had largely been the province of academia.

Successful replantation of the leg in a pre-ambulatory infant.

The authors report the first successful replantation of a below-knee amputation in a 7-month-old infant prior to the development of a standing and walking gait. Seven years following surgery, the child demonstrates excellent ankle and knee range of motion, has regained plantar sensation, and is able to walk, run, and jump without needing a brace. Despite a leg-length discrepancy of 5.

Is treatment with growth hormone effective in children with cerebral palsy?

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often have poor linear growth during childhood, resulting in a diminished final adult height. Here we report a female with CP and short stature but without growth hormone (GH) deficiency who exhibited increased growth during treatment with GH. We also report two other children with CP who were treated with GH: one female with a history of leukemia, and a male with Klinefelter syndrome.

Outcome of slipped capital femoral epiphysis in renal osteodystrophy.

The cases of renal osteodystrophy-associated slipped capital femoral epiphysis in 11 consecutive patients were reviewed. Nine patients had bilateral involvement, totaling 20 hips. The mean age at presentation was 10.