Montreal doctors' breakthrough discovery about causes of cerebral palsy giving hope
CTV
A breakthrough discovery made by doctors at the Montreal Children's Hospital about the causes of cerebral palsy is giving new hope to one West Island family.
A breakthrough discovery made by doctors at the Montreal Children's Hospital about the causes of certain forms of Cerebral Palsy (CP) is giving new hope to one West Island family.
Siena Zakaria is as smiley and playful as any 18-month-old, but at six months, her parents say they started noticing she wasn't hitting her milestones.
"She wasn't rolling. She wasn't able to support her head weight, sort of like a lack of focus," said her father Nash Zakaria. "She wasn't able to concentrate on our voice."
Doctors determined that she has a form of CP, a developmental disorder that affects her movement.
"Cerebral Palsy is the most common cause of physical disability in childhood, and for the longest time, the prevalent belief was that it was caused by asphyxia at birth," said Dr. Maryam Oskoui, the head of Neurology at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, and the co-author of a ground-breaking study that shows there’s more to the story.
"We looked to see if there was a genetic cause that could explain part of their clinical presentation," said Oskoui.
In many cases, including Siena's, a genetic mutation was actually the root cause of the disorder.
