Hypothermia Treatment for Cerebral Palsy

One focus of this blog will be to discuss the special needs and disabilities we are raising money for. The goal is to raise awareness of possible treatments, therapies, surgeries etc. In no way do we recommend any of these treatments without first consulting with a doctor. Please feel free to send comments about these discussions.

Today I want to talk about hypothermia treatment, which is a relatively new treatment for cerebral palsy (CP). The treatment window is very limited and research shows it must be initiated within six hours of birth. The cause of CP is still debated, however one of the major contributing factors is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), or loss of oxygen at birth. HIE is commonly referred to as asphyxia. According to Anne Hansen, MD, MPH, medical director of the NICU, and Janet Soul, MD, CM, associate director of the Neonatal Neurology Program at Children's Hospital Boston, HIE occurs in two stages. The first is before the birth where the brain has a lack of oxygen due to inadequate blood flow, and the second is after birth when there is secondary energy failure. This means that the brain cells are depleted of energy during asphyxia due to a lack of oxygen and glucose. When the brain is injured from asphyxia or trauma the brain will continue to damage itself for a period of time after the injury. This is caused by metabolic processes of the brain. When the newborn is exposed to hypothermia treatment the the brain requires less energy. When there is less energy required for brain function, the brain incurs less damage. Basically if you slow the brain down you prevent it from further damaging itself.

Children's Hospital Boston has performed hypothermia treatment on three newborns who showed signs of asphyxia. The newborns were placed on cooling blankets for 72 hours and then slowly warmed to normal body temperature. Two of the newborns showed normal MRI's after the treatment and the third had a tiny spot on the brain which most likely will have no effect on brain function.

There is some controversy over this treatment but I commend Anne and Janet for their pioneering work in this field. Their new and innovative method shows very positive results in their early trials. Congrats!

For more information and to read the articles I gathered information from, follow these links:
http://www.childrenshospital.org/views/feb08/new_induced_hypothermia.html
http://pub.ucsf.edu/newsservices/releases/200811135/
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/336/8/540

Jon Thornham

Painting With Purpose in 2 Minutes

Painting With Purpose is a brand new idea. People have been having a bit of a hard time understanding exactly what it is that we do. To help make things a little clearer we have summed things up in a 2 minute video. Take a minute to watch it. Let us know if you have any questions by writing a comment.

Andrew's First 5K Part 2

Left to Right, Dr. Savatgy, Chris, Jon and Andrew

Andrew's first 5K was a smashing success. The weather was great and a big crowd showed up for the race. Andrew had lots to say on race morning, but three things kept coming up over and over again. "This is SO AWESOME!", "This is SO COOL!" and "WHOOOOOOOOOHOOOOO" were definitely his favorite things to say. Take a look at the video below.

Chris Thornham

www.paintingwithpurpose.com

Andrew's First 5K

Painting With Purpose Featured on Philly Burbs Website

A day after launching Painting With Purpose we woke up to a wonderful surprise. When doing a Google search on Painting With Purpose, we noticed a new link pop up. After clicking on the link we were taken to Philly Burbs website. Jen W. wrote a wonderful article about Painting With Purpose. Please take a minute to check it out. Make sure you "Digg" us or "Yahoo Buzz" us. A big thanks to Philly Burbs!

Here is the link to the article http://guides.phillyburbs.com/index.php?p=36316&cat=5

Chris Thornham

Andrew's First 5K

The other day while visiting Andrew and his family, I mentioned that Jon and I were running an upcoming 5K named "The Turkey Trot".  For those of you who aren't sure what a 5K is, it's a 5 kilometer or 3.1 mile running race.

I asked Andrew if he would like to run the 5K.  His response was "Chrisy, I can't".  Yes, Andrew has nicknamed me Chrisy.  I know I know, but it's cute when he says it.  Anyway, back to the point.  After hearing Andrew say he couldn't run the 5K, I really started thinking.  He might not be able to "run" the 5K, but with a little help he would be able to complete it.  I asked Andrew if he would like a free ride in his wheel chair.  The smile on his face said it all.  So this weekend Andrew and I will be completing his first 5K together.

Jon (aka the running camera man) will be sprinting back and forth to capture the event.  Be sure to check back next week for a race recap and to watch a video of the event.

Chris Thornham

Painting With Purpose Officially Launches

Painting With Purpose is pleased to announce the launch of our site.  For the past 18 months we have been working away to offer a new and innovative approach to philanthropy called, Win Win Win Philanthropy.  Please visit our site to help Andrew and Painting With Purpose achieve our first goal of raising $150,000 for cerebral palsy, and you could win up to $25,000.  You can also visit our MySpace, FaceBook and YouTube pages.  Below are two of Andrew's videos for you to watch.  The first video is all about Andrew, and in the second video, Andrew talks all about his favorite celebrity Whoopi Goldberg.  For all of Andrew's videos, or to learn about our other Painting With Purpose Kids, please visit our Meet the Kids page.

About Andrew


Andrew and Whoopi Goldberg