Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common class of childhood neuromotor disabilities, resulting in lifelong impairments in productivity and health as well as high costs. To date, no form of infant therapy has proven efficacious via an adequately powered RCT; further, usual and customary therapies often fail to produce clinically meaningful benefits. This revised application builds on new findings from 2 independent preliminary studies showing benefits for infants who received alternative forms of constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT). Using a multisite RCT design, 72 infants (6 - 18 mos old) with unilateral or asymmetrical CP will be randomly assigned to receive one of 3 manualized forms of multi-component therapies. Primary outcomes include objective assessments (at baseline then 1 wk, 6 mos, and 12 mos post-therapy) of affected upper extremity (UE) skills in unilateral and bilateral activities, as well as changes in brain lateralization based on a novel fNIRS protocol fo infants.
The specific aims are: 1) to compare the effects of 3 promising forms of Infant-CIMT that are identical in dosage (3 hr/day X 21 days) and their key therapy elements (shaping, massed practice, home-based, embedded in play and everyday activities, provided by a trained therapist in partnership with parents) but that differ in their use of constraint - continuous casting, part-time splint, or no constraint; and 2) to assess stress levels and safety related to constraint condition (continuous or part-time) compared to no constraint. Stress will be assessed using multiple salivary cortisol samples from infants and parents, parent self-report, and observations. Safety monitoring will include range of motion, skin integrity, sensory awareness, functional use of the casted arm and hand, as well as changes in laterality scores involving the casted side. Even though prior studies affirm the general safety and acceptability of using constraint with infants, there are strongly competing hypotheses about its potential benefits versus risks. Impact: if one or more of the tested infant therapies produces large magnitude benefits lasting up to 12 mos later, then these findings would have a high impact on future clinical practice. Moreover, highly effective therapy very early in life may lead to much higher levels of independence, learning, social engagement, and quality of life for children with unilateral and asymmetrical CP.

Public Health Relevance

There is an urgent need to discover efficacious forms of neurorehabilitation for infants with unilateral and asymmetrical CP to improve lifelong productivity and health outcomes. The proposed multisite randomized controlled trial (N=72 infants) tests 3 highly-promising new therapies and will yield first ever data about the impact of these therapies on neuromotor outcomes and brain development up to 12 months post-treatment.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD074574-03
Application #
9040231
Study Section
Biobehavioral and Behavioral Sciences Subcommittee (CHHD)
Program Officer
Nitkin, Ralph M
Project Start
2014-03-01
Project End
2018-02-28
Budget Start
2016-03-01
Budget End
2017-02-28
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Department
Type
Organized Research Units
DUNS #
003137015
City
Blacksburg
State
VA
Country
United States
Zip Code
24060
DeLuca, Stephanie C; Wallace, Dory A; Trucks, Mary Rebekah et al. (2017) A clinical series using intensive neurorehabilitation to promote functional motor and cognitive skills in three girls with CASK mutation. BMC Res Notes 10:743
Lo, Warren D; Kumar, Riten (2017) Arterial Ischemic Stroke in Children and Young Adults. Continuum (Minneap Minn) 23:158-180
DeLuca, Stephanie C; Ramey, Sharon Landesman; Trucks, Mary Rebekah et al. (2015) Multiple Treatments of Pediatric Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (pCIMT): A Clinical Cohort Study. Am J Occup Ther 69:6906180010p1-9