First Advisor

Bowie, Tom

College

Regis College

Degree Name

BA

School

Regis College Senior Honors Program

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Number of Pages

72 pages

Abstract

Cerebral Palsy (CP) occurs in about one to five of every 1000 births in Western countries (DeLuca 1996), and is also the most common cause of severe physical disability in childhood (Koman et al. 2004). Cerebral Palsy is an umbrella term used to describe a number of conditions that are caused by brain damage during fetal development or shortly after birth, and that are characterized by poor muscle control, spasticity (muscle tightness), and paralysis, among many other neurological deficiencies (Berkow 1997). The magnitude of these manifestations depends on the extent and location of the brain damage and can range in severity from subtle motor impairment to total body involvement (Koman et al. 2004). Cerebral Palsy is a static, rather than progressive disorder, where the condition will not worsen over time (DeLuca1996). Brain damage usually occurs in the cerebral cortex, which can results in many Central Nervous System (CNS) impairments such as: CNS hemorrhage (ruptured blood vessel in the central nervous system), mechanical spinal cord or brainstem damage, deep CNS hypoxia (deprivation of oxygen), cerebral cortex hypoxia and transient or irreversible ischemia (blood deficiency to the brain, which results in nervous/brain cell death). Cerebral Palsy is usually diagnosed based on delayed development of motor function (Eicher and Batshaw 1995).

Date of Award

Spring 2007

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

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