Because of the availability of new knowledge about the neurobiology of developmental brain injury, information that epidemiology and modern brain imaging is providing, the availability of more precise measuring instruments of patient performance, and the increase in studies evaluating the efficacy of therapy for the consequences of injury, the need for reconsideration of the definition and classification of cerebral palsy (CP) has become evident. Pertinent material was reviewed at an international symposium participated in by selected leaders in the preclinical and clinical sciences. Suggestions were made about the content of a revised definition and classification of CP that would meet the needs of clinicians, investigators, and health officials, and provide a common language for improved communication. With leadership and direction from an Executive Committee, panels utilized this information and have generated a revised Definition and Classification of Cerebral Palsy. The Executive Committee presents this revision and welcomes substantive comments about it.

Lesch–Nyhan syndrome (LNS) is an X-linked recessive disorder resulting from a deficiency of the metabolic enzyme hypozanthine–guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). This syndrome presents with abnormal metabolic and neurological manifestations including hyperuricemia, mental retardation, spastic cerebral palsy (CP), dystonia, and self-mutilation. The mechanism behind the severe self-mutilating behavior exhibited by patients with LNS is unknown and remains one of the greatest obstacles in providing care to these patients. This report describes a 10-year-old male child with confirmed LNS who was treated for self-mutilation of his hands, tongue, and lips with repeated botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) injections into the bilateral masseters. Our findings suggest that treatment with BTX-A affects both the central and peripheral nervous systems, resulting in reduced self-abusive behavior in this patient.

spasticity, a neurological problem secondary to an upper motor neuron lesion, has a significant effect on skeletal muscle. the upper motor neuron lesions may be secondary to a cerebral vascular accident, head injury, spinal cord injury, or degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, or perinatal brain injuries such as cerebral palsy. functional ability in these patients can be severely compromised but the basic mechanisms underlying these deficits are not clearly understood. in this review we evaluate the current evidence in the literature that suggests that skeletal muscle tissue itself is altered in spastic conditions. experimental studies were evaluated that included a variety of methods encompassing joint mechanics, tissue mechanics, and muscle morphology. taken together, the literature strongly supports the assertion that ‘spastic muscles’ are altered in a way that is unique among muscle plasticity models and inconsistent with simple transformation due to chronic stimulation or disuse. further studies are required to detail the intra- and extracellular modifications of skeletal muscle that occur secondary to spasticity so that novel therapeutic treatments can be developed for this impairment.

This review presents a discussion of the sexual development of children and adolescents with disabilities, described in the framework of body structure and function, individual activities, and societal perspectives presented in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Issues of sexual development, gynecological care and contraception, sexual functioning, societal barriers, sexual victimization, and sexuality education are presented. Overall, adolescents with disabilities seem to be participating in sexual relationships without adequate knowledge and skills to keep them healthy, safe, and satisfied. Although their sexual development may be hindered both by functional limitations and by intentional or unintentional societal barriers, the formal and informal opportunities for teenagers with disabilities to develop into sexually expressive and fulfilled persons do exist. Health care providers are urged to increase their awareness of this unmet need and to implement strategies that promote the physical, emotional, social, and psychosexual independence of children, teenagers, and young adults with disabilities.

Despite access to a wide source of information via the internet, there is little that can beat a meeting of clinicians with common interests. To this end, this year's BPNA meeting in the extremely congenial atmosphere of the Institute of Child Health (ICH) did not disappoint.