Published on October 18, 2005

Siriraj Hospital is looking for 50 children suffering from cerebral palsy to receive a free treatment with expensive medication that could improve the quality of their lives.

Cerebral palsy is a disorder affecting movement and posture. It generally involves motor impairment as a result of brain damage.

The treatment, in which the patient’s muscles are injected with botulinum toxin, is not a clinical trial, an assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at the hospital, Dr Witsanu Kumthornthip, said yesterday.

The medication has been used for some years to treat muscle spasticity, or inability of the muscles to relax, which is usually caused by brain damage or deformity, including cerebral palsy.

Witsanu, who is also head of Siriraj’s free-treatment programme, has been treating spasticity patients with botulinum toxin for about seven years.

Botulinum toxin injections are an optional treatment for moderate spasticity. The treatment does not cure the condition, but together with physical rehabilitation, can make children more mobile.

The average cost of the drug alone is about Bt10,000 per person, Witsanu said.

Treatment for cerebral palsy is not covered by the Bt30 healthcare scheme or the welfare programme for disabled people.

Witsanu said Siriraj had this year received a large number of donated botulinum toxin treatments, instead of the five to 10 usually donated.

For more information about the project, please call 02 417 7504 or 02 419 9354, or apply in person at Siriraj Hospital’s department of rehabilitation medicine before Wednesday.

Arthit Khwankhom

The Nation

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