Integrated Rehabilitation for Children with Cerebral palsy: A Prospective Observational Study

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to analyse: 1) the clinical effectiveness and safety of traditional Korean Medicine (TKM) and frequency of TKM therapies used and their relationship with conventional treatments.Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled children with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 6-78 months (n=126). The children who used herbal medication for >30 days or acupuncture treatment >12 sessions within 6 months were defined as the integrated rehabilitation (IR) group; the remaining participants were included in the conventional rehabilitation (CR) group.Results: Changes in the Gross Motor Function Measure-66 (GMFM-66) were greater in the IR group (6.4±6.1) than in the CR group (4.6±5.8). The reduction in the number of other health problems was greater in the IR group than in the CR group. The GMFM-66 improvement was greatest in gross motor function classification system level 1. There was no between-group difference in the frequency of rehabilitation therapy (10.9±6.6 and 12.0±9.9 in the IR and CR groups, respectively).Conclusion: TKM may offer additional benefits in terms of the GMFM-66 score and other health problems. However, there is a need for further randomized controlled trials involving a restricted CP type and a controlled treatment type and intensity to confirm these findings.

Factors affecting the use of herbal medicines for weight loss in overweight and obese adolescents

“…Furthermore, it has been reported that HM remarkably increases the neuroprotective effect and cognition and learning abilities through the induction and secretion of nerve growth factor ( 35 ). HM use has been reported to reduce the risk of comorbidities ( 36 ), and patients use HM with the expectation of treating comorbidities ( 37 ). Therefore, adolescents with high perceived stress, depressed mood, a high number of chronic allergic diseases, and low academic performance might use HM not only for weight loss but also for its therapeutic effect on comorbidities.…”