‘Invaluable’ program gives respite to parents of children with special needs

The program, organized by URI College of Nursing Professor Chris McGrane, provides respite care for parents of children with special needs, at no cost to them. For four hours every Saturday afternoon, McGrane and her team of URI students, take care of children with special needs, giving parents a chance to take a break from the sometimes daunting responsibilities of care.

Kids with Cerebral Palsy Have More Small Muscle Fibers, More Stem Cells in Contractured Muscles

Article title: Resident muscle stem myogenic characteristics in postnatal muscle growth impairments in children with cerebral palsy Authors: Ryan E. Kahn, Timothy Krater, Jill E. Larson, Marysol Encarnacion, Tasos Karakostas, Neeraj M. Patel, Vineeta T Swaroop, Sudarshan Dayanidhi From the…

Doll Houses — A Toy Aimed at Teaching Compassionate Living with People with Disabilities in the Society

A lecturer from the Faculty of Education, Chulalongkorn University has developed a toy that instills a sense of compassion in children while teaching them to live happily with people with disabilities and the elderly in society.

‘You can do anything’: teen with disabilities reaches for her dreams

When Shianna Wilson was born, doctors said she may never be able to walk or move her arm. Diagnosed with brachial plexus palsy and cerebral palsy, Shianna underwent multiple surgeries as a young child. Throughout her life, she has worked hard to accomplish her goals, gaining strength and motion – even taking dance classes.

NAU mechanical engineer receives NSF CAREER award to pioneer robot-assisted rehabilitation while integrating education, research

Zach Lerner leads the Biomechatronics Lab at NAU, where he studies the use of robotics to help improve the gait of people with walking disabilities. The outcomes for this project have the potential to transform treatment of walking disabilities across a wide range of conditions.

Study shows when people with cerebral palsy are most likely to break bones

Researchers at Michigan Medicine found people with cerebral palsy have fragile bones that present high fracture risk, but at different times across the lifespan compared to the general population. The results helped them develop new sex-specific critical periods of bone health for this population.

Older Adults with Cerebral Palsy Need More, Receive Less Physical Therapy for Painful Conditions

Older adults with cerebral palsy are more likely to experience debilitating pains of musculoskeletal conditions, but researchers found they receive significantly less physical therapy for those ailments. The lead author says the results, while staggering, support their hypothesis that people with CP receive inequitable health care.

Research News Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins Medicine

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every other Wednesday.

Wayne State secures more than $5 million in NIH funding for cerebral palsy research

The National Institutes of Health is supporting a Wayne State University School of Medicine physician-researcher’s work at preventing and treating cerebral palsy in the form of two new five-year R01 grants worth a collective $5.59 million.

Robotic Trunk Support Trainer Improves Upper Body Control of Children with Cerebral Palsy

Columbia Engineering researchers report their innovative robotic Trunk Support Trainer, when combined with active practice of postural movements, improves trunk and reaching control in CP children with impaired sitting control. TruST helps physical therapists to not only support the children in the region of the trunk where they suffer from weakness and incoordination but also challenge them to perform rehabilitation tasks outside their base of support to improve their movement and coordination.

Cerebral palsy also has genetic underpinnings

Scientists have identified mutations in single genes that can be responsible for at least some cases of cerebral palsy, according to a new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study indicates that many of the mutations occur randomly and are not inherited from a child’s parents. The new knowledge could help improve the diagnosis of cerebral palsy and lead to future therapies.

Scientists show MRI predicts the efficacy of a stem cell therapy for brain injury

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and Loma Linda University Health have demonstrated the promise of applying magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict the efficacy of using human neural stem cells to treat a brain injury—a first-ever “biomarker” for regenerative medicine that could help personalize stem cell treatments for neurological disorders and improve efficacy. The study was published in Cell Reports.