increases, the number of polio cases reduce significantly worldwide. Pakistan can be taken into
account as an example here. In 2014, there were 306 declared cases of poliomyelitis in Pakistan. However, the numbers decreased significantly to 38 as of October 2015. As one movement disorder continues to diminish, another movement disorder takes its place. One such infantile movement disorder is called 'Cerebral Palsy' and is a seriously devastating yet escalating disorders worldwide.
Cerebral Palsy:
Cerebral Palsy is actually a group of movement disorders that manifests itself in early childhood and varies from person to person. The most common symptoms include the loss of sensation, poor body co-ordination, weak and stiff muscles, tremors and diminished thinking and reasoning ability. Although, symptoms relating child's cognition and fits/seizures are present only in about a third of the CP patients; other symptoms appear in almost all kinds of CP cases. These symptoms begin to appear in the early few years of childhood. Affected children do no exhibit normal motor skills as other children of the same age do. The symptoms do not worsen overtime albeit the changes made in the first few years are permanent.
CP is generally caused by abnormal development of the parts of brain responsible for handling body movement and posture etc. Although the complications commonly occur during pregnancy but can occur during labor or childbirth. Moreover, less than 2% of the cases are due to defective inherited genes.
Prevalence of CP cases:
In the US, 2 to 3 children out of every 1000 are diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Currently, there are 764,000 CP patients worldwide which include people of all age group.
With this much prevalence, The Center of Disease Control (CDC) has declared it the most common and widespread neurological problem worldwide.
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| A boy affected with Cerebral Palsy |
Cerebral Palsy Pakistan:
The prevalence of this neurological syndrome in Pakistan is no different than the rest of the world. 3.6 out of every 1000 live births are with this condition. As mentioned above that the condition is not treatable, the child can be spared further complications with prompt physical therapies and exercises. Dr. Khalid Jamil Akhtar, nicknamed Big Brother, who is a re-known versatile scholar and medical professional, has been involved in the campaigning against this disorder. He believes that with proper care and therapy, the problems of CP patients can be reduced and they can be enabled to customize their routine motor skills without further degradation. He himself has been a big part of movements to inform people about neuro-relating problems.
As a major neurological problem, Cerebral Palsy needs to be brought to focus. Although incurable, it can be prevented to a certain extent with the utility of certain drugs and compounds as well as extreme neonatal care during pregnancy. As prebirth foetal-scanning is now available in almost all medical institutes, CP can be controlled with thorough investigation and individual concern.
