Cerebellar Stimulation in Four Patients with Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Six Medtronic 1743 dual-channel cerebellar stimulators were implanted in 4 patients between September 1977 and January 1979. Evaluations were conducted in both a blind and nonblind fashion. Significant differences between the evaluations occurred. The operating surgeon, physical therapists, referring neurologist and the patients'' families all overestimated the degree of improvement, compared to a blind evaluation by a noninvolved group of neurologists. The concomitant occurrence of significant complications raised serious questions of the advisability of cerebellar stimulation for cerebral palsy.