Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect movement and muscle tone or posture. It's caused by damage that occurs to the immature brain as it develops, most often before birth.
Our guest today is Zain Bando, a Chicago area, 21-year-old college student and is studying journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a junior. He hopes to pursue a career in broadcasting after graduation and currently resides in Downers Grove, IL with his family.
TRANSCRIPT:
S8E2 Cerebral palsy
Lita T 00:08
Hello, and welcome to another episode of podcast dx, the show that brings you interviews with people just like you, whose lives were forever changed by a medical diagnosis. I'm Lita
Ron 00:20
And I'm Ron.
Jean 00:21
And I'm Jean Marie.
Lita T 00:22
Collectively, we're the host of podcast dx. On today's show. We're speaking with Zain about cerebral palsy. Good morning, Zain. And could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Zain 00:32
Sure. So, um, good morning. My name is Zain Bando And I am a 21 year old college student who's currently studying journalism at the University of Illinois in Champaign. And after graduation, um I hope to pursue a career in, in broadcasting or as a writer for a sports team. I don't know, I don't know what sports team that would be at. But it's something that I've always been interested in. And it's just a passion that I've always had, and I'm very glad to be pursuing it. So thank you again, for having me on today. I really appreciate it. And sorry, my, my pronunciation is actually "Zain", I know, I know that there's I in my name, but it actually isn't for now, literally. So if you think of the word "van", that's how my name is pronounced.
Lita T 01:18
We will take that that I out, thank you very much.
Ron 01:22
Yeah I don't know. We appreciate that. Zain. Can you send us out by actually telling us and our listeners what actually is? cerebral palsy?
Zain 01:33
Sure, so that's a great question. So according to the Mayo Clinic, cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect muscle control, movement, muscle tone, or posture, by injury or malformation, which occurs to the brain as it develops more often before birth during the birthing process, or just after birth. There are two main forms of CP, continental and acquired.
Lita T 01:58
Right, right that I've got also in the Center for Disease Control here in the United States. That the risk factors for cerebral palsy, and I'm going to abbreviate it as CP is that it's important to know the risk factors. Some of the risk factors for congenital CP are a low birth weight. So children who weigh less than five and a half pounds at birth, or that's 2500 grams, and especially those who weigh less than three pounds at birth, so that's about 1500 grams, they have a greater chance of having CP, a child that is prematurely born. And that's children that are born before the 37th week of pregnancy, and especially if they're born before the 32nd week of pregnancy, they have a higher chance of having CP intensive care for premature infants has improved a lot over the past several decades. And babies that are born very early are more likely to live now. But many have medical problems that can put them at risk for CP. Another risk factor is multiple births, twins, triplets, and other multiple births have a higher risk for CP, especially if a baby's twin or triplet dies before birth, or shortly after birth. I don't know why that would be but that's what they're saying. some but not all of this increased risk is due to the fact that children born from multiple pregnancies are often born early or with low birth weight, or both children that are conceived with artificial reproductive technology, abbreviated as ART in fertility treatments. Those pregnancies that result have a higher risk of CP. Most of the increased risk is explained by preterm delivery or multiple births or both. And both preterm delivery and multiple births are increased with children conceived with ART infertility treatments. Another risk would be infections that the mother might get during pregnancy infections can lead to increased certain proteins called Cytokines and that circulates in the brain and the blood of the baby during pregnancy. Cytokines cause inflammation, which can lead to brain damage in the baby. A fever in the mother during pregnancy or delivery can also cause this problem. Some types of infections that have been linked to CP include viruses such as chicken pox, rubella, German, which is also German measles, and also Sue-to
Jean 04:50
Cytomegalovirus
Lita T 04:52
Oh cytomegalovirus Thank you, Jean. And bacterial infections such as infections of the placenta or fetal membranes, And maternal pelvic infec, infections can cause it. jaundice or Jean?
Jean 05:09
Nope, I don't know this one.
Lita T 05:10
Okay, Ron,
Ron 05:12
What are you looking at me for?
Jean 05:15
Zain,
Lita T 05:16
(laughter) Zain? Karen neck care neck and neck terrorists? Okay,
Zain 05:21
I would see. I would say it's um Kernic Esrest, but I'm not sure
Jean 05:26
That sounds good.
Lita T 05:27
That sounds good.
Ron 05:28
That's what we're going with today
Lita T 05:29
We're going to go with that KernicTetris is the yellow color scene in the skin of many newborns. jaundice happens when a chemical called bilirubin builds in the baby's blood. When too much of this bilirubin builds up in the baby's blood the skin in the whites of the eyes might look yellow. This yellow coloring is called jaundice. And when severe jaundice goes untreated for too long, it can cause their condition that Zain pronounced properly and it can cause CP and other conditions. By the way, that condition is spelled k e r n i c. t e r us, Kernest..
Ron 06:07
I'm going to go with Kerner, Nick terus
Lita T 06:10
Kernicterus,
Jean 06:11
We're going to have a link on our...
Lita T 06:13
Website
Jean 06:13
Yes, yeah,
Lita T 06:14
That's the best way to go sometimes Kernicterus results from Abo and Rh blood type differences between the mother and the baby. This causes the red blood cells in the baby to break down too fast resulting in severe jaundice. medical conditions of the mother, such as mothers with thyroid problems, intellectual disability, or seizures have a slightly higher risk of having a child with CP, and other birth complications such as detachment of the placenta, a uterine rupture, or problems with the umbilical cord during birth, can disrupt oxygen supply to the baby, and result in CP.
Zain 06:55
Well, while that's all true, a small percentage of CP is caused by brain damage that occurs more than 28 days after birth. This is called the acquired CP and usually associated with infection, such as meningitis and head injury, or a problem with blood flow to the brain. cerebral vascular accidents for example, stroke or or bleeding in the brain associated with the blood clotting problem, blood vessels that didn't form properly, or heart defect that was present at birth or sickle cell disease,
Jean 07:28
Zain, what are some of the symptoms for cerebral palsy?
Zain 07:33
Sure, so because this condition begins to show signs and symptoms at a very early age, and individuals, parents or health care providers typically notice the signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy. The symptoms and effects of cerebral palsy vary depending on the location and extent of the injury to the brain, your child might normal intelligence or have learning difficulties or learning difficulties, your child might have mild difficulties with movement or be unable to control their limbs, despite the variations in symptoms of certain effects are common among people with cerebral palsy.
Ron 08:07
Wouldn't you say that it's kind of like a spectrum from mild to severe? Right?
Zain 08:12
Absolutely. 100 100%. Right. There's definitely there's definitely a spectrum.
Ron 08:18
Yeah, the CD says I'm sorry, the CDC says that in many cases, the cause or causes of congenital CP aren't fully known, which means that currently little can be done to prevent it. CP related to genetics is not preventable. But can acquired CP be prevented? And
Zain 08:41
It's a very good, it's a very good question. While there are actions people can take before and during pregnancy, as well as after birth, that might, excuse me, that might help reduce the risk of develop, of developmental problems, including CP, taking steps to help ensure a healthy pregnancy and to help prevent development. developmental problems, including CP acquired CP is often related to infection, or injury, and some of those cases can be prevented, but again, as as it stated, some of those cases just simply are impossible
Ron 09:21
Right
Zain 09:21
And cannot and cannot be prevented, so
Ron 09:24
Right, right.
Jean 09:26
Thank you. before pregnancy, it's a good idea to be as healthy as possible. I think that's what a lot of people strive for. And make sure that any infections that you might have are treated in any healthcare conditions that you might have like diabetes are under control. And ideally, they should be under control before you. You will conceive if if assistive reproductive technology or ART infertility treatments are being used to get pregnant, consider ways to reduce the chance of multiple pregnancies, twins, triplets, or more. I think some people think Up to like 1213 children at a time, such as transferring only one embryo at a time. And then having multiple pregnancies. It's also important to get vaccinated for certain diseases as Lita had mentioned, such as the chicken pox or rubella. And that could, those if you should contract those illnesses while pregnant, that could be harmful to the developing baby. It's also important to have many of these vaccinations before you become pregnant. And as we've learned Also, before you have an organ transplant, or any of those things as well, for undertaking any major life changes,
Lita T 10:38
Right. And during pregnancy, you should have early and regular prenatal care, both for your health and for the end of your developing baby. You should wash your hands often with soap and water to help reduce the risk of infections that might cause harm to your developing baby. Contact your health care provider if you get sick, have a fever or have other signs of infection during pregnancy. a flu shot is your best protection in our in our opinion, against serious illness from the flu, or flu shot can protect pregnant women and their unborn babies, both before and after birth. flu shots have not been shown to cause harm to pregnant women or their babies. If there is a difference in the blood type, or the Rh in compatibility between the mother and the baby, like we said it can cause jaundice and Kernicterus. I'm not going to get that one
Ron 11:32
(laughter)
Jean 11:32
Nope We'll hear about that later.
Lita T 11:34
Yep, women should know their blood type and talk to their doctor about ways to prevent problems. And also you should talk to your doctor about ways to prevent problems if you are at risk for preterm delivery, such as if you have multiple embryos. Research has shown that taking magnesium sulfate before anticipated early preterm birth reduces the risk of CP among surviving infants.
Zain 12:00
And in addition to that, it also leaves reducing risks after the baby's born, because any baby can get jaun jaundice severe jaundice that is not treated, can cause brain damage. Just like the mom before pregnancy makes sure your child has vaccines against infections that can cause meningitis. And with it, we'll see if I can get this one, um encephalitis Buckling their child in the car. Buckling their child in the car using an infant or child car seat, booster seat or seat belt according to the child's height, weight and age. Again, this is just our opinion of recommendations that should be done. Make living area safe. Make living areas safer for children by using window guards. Keep young children from falling from falling out of open windows and using safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs. Make sure make sure the surface of your child's playground is made of a shock absorbing material such as hardwood mulch or sand, carefully watching children at the time. At all times are in bathtubs swimming or wading pools, and natural bodies of water that should that should just go for any young child in general disability or not. Adults watching kids in the water should avoid distracting activities like using a computer or a mobile device reading or taking or talking on the phone. Talking on the phone might be the most dangerous one, in my opinion.
Jean 12:24
Yep right on Yeah,
Zain 12:52
Make sure your child wears a helmet. For activities like riding a bike. That's an obvious one. And of course, never hit, throw, shake or hurt a child. I know the sound like common sense things, but some young mothers may not know how dangerous life is for a very young child. That's right. Great advice Zain. As a matter of fact, I just heard on the news that they they are trying to reach out to very young mothers mothers that really don't have perhaps a mentor. They might be on their own. They don't have the the background and those type of mothers. They just might not have all of these tools at their disposal. So hopefully this episode will help them
Jean 14:14
Yeah, not everyone's been you know babysitting. Yeah,
Lita T 14:17
Yeah. Great. Zain. What treatments are available for somebody that's been diagnosed with CP ?
Zain 14:24
For sure, um, There are medications that can help with the muscle spasticity. In July of this year, the FDA has approved an expanded use of Dysport to treat upper and lower limbs spasticity which I actually did not know about, including that caused by CP for patients as young as two years and older. Overtime, CP might cause problems with muscles, bones and joints in your child might need surgery to address these issues or concerns.
Ron 14:54
Right Right, Zain. What tips do you have for someone whose child has recently been diagnosed with CP
Zain 15:01
um while there's still an ongoing education process to be have to be had just from...