Article

Infants with possible cerebral palsy (CP) are commonly assumed to benefit from
early diagnosis and early intervention, but substantial evidence for this is
lacking. There is no consensus in the literature on a definition of 'early', but
this review focuses on interventions initiated within the first 6 months after
term age. We cover basic neuroscience, arguing for a beneficial effect of early
intervention, and discuss why clinical research to support this convincingly is
lacking. We argue that infants offered early intervention in future clinical
studies must be identified carefully, and that the intervention should be focused
on infants showing early signs of CP to determine an effect of treatment. Such
signs may be efficiently detected by a combination of neuroimaging and the
General Movements Assessment. We propose a research agenda directed at
large-scale identification of infants showing early signs of CP and testing of high-intensity, early interventions.
CI - (c) 2014 Mac Keith Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS