We often take for granted the ease to control our bodies. A completely abled individual has never had to think while taking a step or grabbing a pen. Tormented by involuntary movement and a lack of coordination, a patient who has cerebral palsy, Daniel Barnhart, once shared, “So, when we got the walk-in shower, that was a lifesaver, ‘Because I could just sit in a bath chair and basically roll into the walk-in shower.” Simple everyday activities can turn out to be painful missions. Cerebral palsy (CP) can be categorized as a neurological disorder beginning in the early years wherein improper or incomplete development leads to irregular body movement and muscle coordination.
Abnormal or retarded neurological development in an infant dramatically impacts the brain’s ability to control movement and maintain posture and balance. According to a survey done in 2022, 2 to 5 children for every 1000 live births develop some form of cerebral palsy of varying severity. Besides the abovementioned types, 15% of cases depict mixed cerebral palsy with symptoms from the different subtypes. Although untreatable, therapies easing individual symptoms have been developed to facilitate affected people’s lives. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a potential therapeutic approach to alleviate hypertonia in patients with spastic or mixed cerebral palsy.
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“We need to change the paradigm of how we care for patients with severe hypertonia. To decrease muscle tone, we need to exclude the dysfunctional nervous system, which is the main driver of pathology. Radiofrequency ablation is a safe and effective approach that is well tolerated, with patients going home the next day. Patients with severe tone despite medications are encouraged to see a neurosurgeon to see if they are candidates for this treatment.” stated Dr. Jeffrey Raskin, Neurosurgeon at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago. Hypertonia can be defined as the constantly activated state of muscles resulting in severe pain and skeletal deformity. The lack of effective medications or surgical alternatives has led to a profound disparity in the patient’s quality of life. Dr. Raskin’s successful ablation of hypertonia using RFA technology has become a ray of hope for several other affected individuals. Prescribed for a myriad of chronic pain and movement-related disorders, RFA is a destructive therapy that involves target tissue degradation using thermal discharges. Raskin’s computer-aided minimally intrusive procedure was able to greatly benefit the child’s quality of life. According to the journal Operative Neurosurgery, the effects lasted even eight months post-treatment. Labeled as safe and effective, RFA was well tolerated among a wide range of patients.
Offering a chance of a better life to thousands of individuals worldwide, Dr. Jeffrey Raskins’ work is on the path to becoming a standard practice. Despite the limited clinical evaluations conducted so far, the success has brought RFA to the limelight. Several agencies dedicated to the awareness and welfare of cerebral palsy are working tirelessly to develop this method to its full potential. Fundraisers and campaigns have allowed RFA to reach more significant geographic and demographic regions.
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