Neurological dysfunction to neurological function

Neurological dysfunction to neurological function
Physical therapies to restore movement
In her presentation Restoring Neurological Function Professor Janet Eyre, discussing the use of physical therapies to restore movement, rightly acknowledges the fact that "systematic reviews of the evidence have so far failed to demonstrate that any one physical therapy approach is more effective than any other. Or have they yielded any insights as to which of the many interventions available are suitable for which patients, and at what stage in the recovery process and in what dose." Professor Eyre goes on to say " Part of the problem is that many of those therapies are based on uncontrolled clinical observations of their effects. That does not mean they should be discarded."
The paper published in Annals of Neurology, 42,283-291 in March 2004 for the Academy of Medical Sciences, overviews the rationale of neurological reorganisation on the basis that "Targeted physical therapies have been shown to promote recovery following brain injury by stimulating reorganisation and beneficial plastic changes". Professor Eyre whose specialty is paediatric neuroscience has previously discussed the plasticity of the brain goes on to say in her presentation "that there is plenty of evidence that conventional physical therapies work for the rehabilitation of stroke patients. For instance, repetitive shoulder movements performed soon after the stroke improves the function of the arms".
The presentation in its entirety can be viewed via www.acmedsci.ac.uk/images/publication/pneurofu/pdf. in which on page 56 in paragraph L4 she contemplates that "As scientific knowledge about the mechanisms of recovery grows, it reveals broad principals on which new therapies should be based. For instance, somatosensory or touch feedback from normal activity or repetitive exercises is now known to be an important driver to recovery". The final paragraph concludes" Musculoskeletal consequences of neurological injury are reversible and amenable to rehabilitation. Nutrition and metabolism should also be considered in any package of holistic rehabilitation."
Professor Eyre, in this conclusion, echoes the sentiments of Patricia Kane Ph.D. in her work "Review of the Neurochemistry and Neurophysics of Autistic Spectrum Disorder", by saying "Children within the realm of autistic spectrum disorder exhibit presentation that has forced us to look deeper, to embrace the whole person, the brain, the nervous system, the gastrointestinal system, the immune system, the endocrine system the hepatic system, the muscuskeletal system, the renal system."
Now more than ever there is a greater need for specialists in all disciplines of neuroscience, medical science, to come together under one umbrella to address and find an answer to an intractable problem.

Robin Burn,
The Autism Centre.
May 2007