Walking Easier with cerebral palsy

The WE-Study

Botulinum toxin A, also known as Botox, is a drug that works by blocking the impulse transmission between the nerve and the muscle. The effect lasts for about three months. In Norway, about 60 % of children with cerebral palsy (CP) receive intramuscular Botox injections. It is documented that Botox reduces spasticity, but evidence of functional effect is limited. The goal of this study is to find out if Botox injections make walking easier in children with CP.

Published 30.10.2018 / Last updated 19.10.2020

96 children between the age of 4 and 18 with uni- or bilateral spastic CP who are able to walk alone will be tested in this study. To be included in the study, the treating doctor should find indication for Botox injections in the calf muscles. The children must not have had Botox injections in their lower extremities during the last six months, and not undergone surgery in the lower extremities the last two years. Participants are randomly divided into two groups; One group receives Botox, and the other saline injections in the calf muscle(s). In Norway, about 30-40 employees in five different hospitals are working with this study. In 2018 two new centers, Nice and Warsaw respectively, have been included in the study.

Contact : We-studien@stolav.no

Informed consent forms

Information sheet children under 12 Informed consent form children under 16 Informed consent form children older than 16 Informed consent form parents

Leaflet regarding energy consumption test

English Polish French

Study teams

Project management

Torstein Vik
Siri M. Brændvik
Karin Roeleveld
Ingvild Storheil

St. Olavs University Hospital in Trondheim, Norway

1. PI Torarin Lamvik

Vestfold Hospital Trust in Tønsberg, Norway

1. PI Guro L. Andersen

Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Norway

1. PI Kjersti Ramstad

University Hospital of North Norway in Tromsø, Norway

1. PI Jasmina Majkic-Tajsic

Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway

1. PI Ånen Aarli

Mazowieckie Centrum Neuropsychiatrii Sp. Z o.o. in Zagórze, Poland

1. PI Marcin Bonokowski

Lenval Foundation – Children’s Hospital in Nice, France

1. PI Olivier Rosello

Dissemination

Poster AACPDM, 2016 The WE-Study article in Trials, 2017 ECRIN Interview with coordinating international investigator Torstein Vik and international study coordinator Siri Merete Brændvik, 2018

In Norwegian

Here you can read about The WE-Study in Norwegian.

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