User:Mellalisa/Ataxic cerebral palsy

Project Proposal Ataxic Cerebral Palsy

Lisa Mella and Thomas Coburn

This is our proposal for our Ataxic cerebral palsy stub

Introduction
Ataxic cerebral palsy is the least common form of Cerebral Palsy, typically affecting between 5-10 percent of those afflicted by the disease. Ataxic Cerebral Palsy is caused by damage to the cerebellum, which is responsible for controlling balance, coordination, and fine motor movements. It generally affects coordination of movement in an individual’s arms, legs and trunk, as well as leading to poor muscle tone.

This section will be elaborated and become part of the overview section.

We plan to break our article up into the following six sections:

Overview
This section will serve as a basic introduction to cerebral palsy as a whole, the different types of cerebral palsy, and the specific characteristics that classify ataxic cerebral palsy and differentiate it from other forms of cerebral palsy.

Causes
This section will delve more into the physiology and science behind ataxic cerebral palsy in terms of what causes the disease and how those causes affect those afflicted with the disease.

Symptoms
This section will go into more detail describing the typical symptoms seen in patients with Ataxic cerebral palsy. The most common symptom is intention tremor, which will be described in more detail in this section, but basically refers to the inability to perform voluntary fine motor movements, such as writing.

Diagnosis
This will outline the methods by which doctors use to diagnose ataxic cerebral palsy

Treatment
This section will detail the current treatments that are being used to combat ataxic cerebral palsy (there is no cure). It will also give a brief overview of the newest research and development in helping prevent the effects of ataxic cerebral palsy (specifically some neonatal clinical trials). There are medications that have been recommended, such as primidone and benzodiazepine, which can alleviate tremor symptoms, however they are not recommended for long term use. Botox has shown to be effective in treating hand, voice, and head tremors since it serves to relax tightened muscles.

History
This section will detail the history of ataxic cerebral palsy, including major discoveries and advancements in diagnosis and treatment, as well as a general overview of how the quality of live for those living with ataxic cerebral palsy has changed over time

Division of Labor
We will split up the articles we have to read and also split up the 6 subsections so each person is responsible for completing and organizing the information we find for 2 of the subsections. We have created 6 Google docs (one for each section) which will allow us to organize the information we find by section. Lisa will be responsible for causes, symptoms, and diagnosis Tom will cover overview, treatment, and history.