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Cerebral palsy‐a pharmacologic approach
Author(s) -
Denhoff Eric
Publication year - 1964
Publication title -
clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.941
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1532-6535
pISSN - 0009-9236
DOI - 10.1002/cpt196456part2947
Subject(s) - cerebral palsy , medicine , cerebral palsied , rehabilitation , diazepam , physical medicine and rehabilitation , psychology , pediatrics , physical therapy , anesthesia
Rehabilitation of the cerebral palsied child demands a multiplicity of modalities to deal with the complex disabilities: neurological dysfunction, behavioral difficulties, perceptual distortion, emotional disturbances, and learning disabilities. Pharmacologic agents represent but one of many aids in a comprehensive program of effective rehabilitation. A practical drug approach is presented as an adjuvant to physical therapy and other modes of treatment. The electroencephalic photo‐Metrazol technique was used for objective differentiation between behavior symptoms of organic origin and those of emotional disorders in 192 children with cerebral palsy and related disorders. ApprOXimately 60 per cent had abnormal or borderline photo‐Metrazol thresholds, indicating diencephalic dysfunction. These were candidates for amphetamine therapy; those with narmal levels despite hyperkinetic behavior were nat. In a double‐blind study, diazepam was tested in 25 children with cerebral palsy, with an over‐all improvement in 36 per cent; in those who were nonambulatory, with rigidity and moderate degrees of mental retardation, a 60 per cent improvement was observed.