The human brain is made of 3 main parts, the cerebrum which accounts for 85% of the brain, the cerebellum and the main stem. The cerebrum is responsible for the voluntary movements of the muscles, thinking, communication and is also associated with the senses of touch, sight etc.. Damage to the cerebrum causes problems and the nomenclature attached to these problems is " cerebral Palsy". Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects thousands of babies and children each year. It is not contagious, which means you can’t catch it from anyone who has it.  

The word cerebral means having to do with the brain. The word palsy means a weakness or problem in the way a person moves or positions his or her body. A kid with CP has trouble controlling the muscles of the body. Normally, the brain tells the rest of the body exactly what to do and when to do it. But because CP affects the brain, depending on what part of the brain is affected, a kid might not be able to walk, talk, eat, or play the way most kids do.

Nearly 40 lakh children said to have been suffering with Cerebral Palsy in India. And each day this number is increasing. Approximately 200 kids are said to have been born every day with Cerebral Palsy. The number of kids suffering with this problem in twin cities is 15,000 and state of Andhra Pradesh is 1.5 lakhs.  

Though the number is increasing by the day, hardly any attention is paid to such a problem. There are not sufficient specialist available in the country. Keeping this in view Dr. A.K. Purohit, Professor and Head of the Department of Neurosurgery NIMS wants to create an awarness among the masses about Cerebral Palsy on the occasion of Childrens Day today. As CP is caused by damage to the motor control centers of the young developing brain and can occur during pregnancy (about 75 percent), during childbirth (about 5 percent) or after birth (about 15 percent) up to about age three, he wants to help families cope up with children of Cerebral Palsy. To mark the Childrens Day and celebrate the same he is releasing a book CEREBRAL PALSY GYAN KOSH, which he authored.

It is a 424 pages book he authored with more than 2000 illustrations to help families having a child with cerebral palsy and the organisations catering to the needs of these children. The book is also useful to professionals like Pediatricians, Ortho-paedicians, Neurologists, Neurosurgeons, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapist and other Rehabilitation Specialists. The book offers lot of psychological support to the families and induces zeal, enthusiasm and hope, informed Dr. A.K. Purohit addressing a press conference in city.

The book published in Indian national language i.e Hindi as unlike in English there is no book or guidance available in Hindi. Since large section of people in India speak Hindi. A glossary of Hindi to English, English to Hindi and English side headlines, sub titles and illustrated anatomy of human body and nervous system has been included in this book. All these efforts have been made the book more easily understandable even by laymen without basic literacy, he informed.

The book is quite comprehensive to teach what is Cerebral Palsy, how to diagnose, what are the associated disorders and complications of Cerebral Palsy. What are the physical, medical and surgical methods to treat them, what is the role of additional therapies, added Dr. A.K. Purohit. As it is necessary to have full multidisciplinary care of the child under one roof so that parents have not to run from pillar to post, the book also fulfills the concept in a sense that all that is required to understand about CP has been included in one book, so that the reader can understand whole subject and need not to refer here and there. However, one who wishes to study the subject of his choice in depth may refer other books.

Publication of messageful jokes, emotional stories and amazing facts have given an extra flavour to the book. This is a first of its kind of book in hindi language and would definitely be useful to hindi speaking people, he said. And he welcomes people to comeforward to translate the book into other Indian languages.

The book is priced affordably low at Rs 300/-. Those who are interested in the book may reserve the book as limited number of copies have been published. You may send SMS(0984905600) or email to: akpcpcp@gmail.com.

Doctors who specialize in treating kids with problems of the brain, nerves, or muscles are usually involved in diagnosing a kid with cerebral palsy. These specialists could include a pediatric neurologist, a doctor who deals with problems of the nervous system and brain in kids.

Three other kinds of doctors who can help kids with CP include a pediatric orthopedist, who handles problems with bones or joints, a developmental pediatrician, who looks at how a kid is growing or developing compared with other kids the same age, and a pediatric physiatrist, who helps treat children with disabilities of many kinds. There is no special test to figure out if a kid has cerebral palsy. Doctors may order X-rays and blood tests to find out if some other disease of the brain and nervous system may be causing the problem. To diagnose CP, doctors usually wait to see how a kid develops to be sure. A case of cerebral palsy often can be diagnosed by the age of 18 months. For example, if a child does not sit up or walk by the time most kids should be doing these things, the kid might have CP or some other problem that is causing development to go more slowly. Doctors follow infant and child development closely and look for problems with muscle tone and strength, movement, and reflexes.