Dr. Richard Anderson is senior author* of a paper, Reduction in upper-extremity tone after lumbar selective dorsal rhizotomy in children with spastic cerebral palsy, just published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.
Cerebral Palsy is a neurological condition caused by injury to the brain at birth. The result is often an abnormal increase in muscle tone or spasticity in the arms and/or legs, making them weaker and harder to move. The term quadriparesis is used when both arms and legs are involved. To reduce this spasticity, Dr. Anderson performs a procedure on the lower spine of these children, called selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR). Learn more about SDR here.
“It has been known for years that some children will have an improvement in the tone and function of their arms after a lumbar selective dorsal rhizotomy,” says Dr. Anderson. “However, this is the first report in the literature that quantifies this improvement. Our research has shown that 80% of children with spastic quadriparesis will have improvements in their upper extremities after a SDR. This is critical information to be able to share with parents trying to decide if a SDR is the right choice for their child.”
To learn more, read the abstract of this paper online here, or find it in the December 2013 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery:Pediatrics.
For more information on this topic, see our previous post: See The Possibilities: Naomi’s Story Before And After Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy.
Learn more about Dr. Richard Anderson on his bio page here.
*Co-authors include: Gigante P, McDowell MM, Bruce SS, Chirelstein G, Chiriboga CA, Dutkowsky J, Fontana E, Hyman J, Kim H, Morgan D, Pearson TS, Roye BD, Roye DP Jr, Ryan P, Vitale M, Anderson RC.
