Treating Cerebral Palsy with Botox
 By Tisha Powell
(03/15/06 - DURHAM) - We often hear of doctors using Botox to stop wrinkles in adults, but many patients receiving the shot are children.

Botox injections are used to help strengthen weak muscles in kids with cerebral palsy. They can be painful, but doctors at Duke are now giving children the shots while they sleep.
Joslyn Lilly, 2, has cerebral palsy and works hard to keep up with her sister, Jillian. She and her twin sister were born 12-1/2 weeks early. "They told us that they would have either learning disabilities, probably cerebral palsy... wouldn't be able to walk."

But the girls aren't just walking, they're riding tricycles. Things mom and dad say Joslyn can now do thanks to Botox injections. "When we first heard about it. Our reaction was 'Botox'... that's for wrinkles."

 
Duke Pediatric Neurologist Dr. Pedro Weisleder says Botox can help strengthen weak muscles by paralyzing the tight muscles caused by cerebral palsy. "If we inject the biceps which is contracted and allow it to relax, then the child can have an opportunity strengthen the triceps."

But the shots are often painful, causing anxiety for patients and parents. So doctors at Duke are now giving the shots under anesthesia with great benefits. "Number one we have eliminated that anxiety in children and as a consequence in the parents& and also it allows me to be more accurate in my injections."

Joslyn's mother explains the benefits. "Before the Botox she was more rigid in her walking. After the Botox her steps were more fluid. It was a more fluid movement."

The Botox injections normally last for about three months, and they're used in combination with physical therapy.

Dr. Weisleder says he no longer gives the injections without the anesthesia.