Elizabeth Matula-Friedreich ataxia (USA) Post on April 16, 2010

Name: Elizabeth Matula                           
Sex: Female
Country: USA
Age: 25
Diagnosis: Friedreich ataxia
Admission Date: 2010-2-24
Days Admitted to the Hospital: 40

Pre-Treatment:
Elizabeth Matula was presented with a progressive balance disorder, unstable gait, and was at an increased risk of falling. She progressively developed a movement disorder in her upper limbs; she had difficulty grasping things and problems standing. Her speech was slurred and she spoke very slowly. She went to a local hospital and was diagnosed with Friedreich's ataxia. Her disease gradually became more serious and the strength in her limbs continued to decrease. She couldn't walk independently and needed to use a wheel chair. The examination showed that her heart had been enlarged. There was no cyanosis around the lips. She had no shortness of breath or discomfort when breathing. At present, Elizabeth Matula is unable to walk, and still has problems grasping things with her fingers, but she can brush her teeth, wash her face and perform other basic daily activities.

When Elizabeth Matula and her family found out about the specialized treatment being done at our medical center, they consulted with our doctors and made the decision to come here for the treatment.

Admission PE:

Bp: 128/87mmHg; Hr: 86/min. The respiratory murmur in both lungs was clear, with no dry or moist rales. Through auscultation, we discovered that the heart sounds were low and blunt. The cardiac rate was normal, with no noticeable murmur. There was abdominal bulging, palpation revealed that the stomach was soft and there was no pressing pain or rebound tenderness. No obvious masses were felt. There was no edema in either of the lower limbs. Elizabeth Matula was alert. Her speech was slow and ambiguous. Her memory, calculation ability and orientation were normal. Both pupils were equal in size and round, the diameter was 3.0mm. Both eyeballs could move freely and flexibly and the pupils were sensitive to light stimulus. She had nystagmus with hyper-traction. The forehead wrinkle pattern was symmetrical. The bilateral nasolabial sulcus was equal in depth. The tongue was centered in the oral cavity and the teeth were shown without deflection. Elizabeth Matula could raise the soft palate normally and flexibly. Both shoulders had equal shrugging strength. The muscle strength of both upper limbs was level 4; the muscle strength of both lower limbs was level 3-. The muscle tone of both upper limbs was normal; the muscle tone of both lower limbs was reduced.

The abdominal reflex was not elicited. The bilateral Hoffmann's sign was negative, the bilateral sucking reflex was negative, the bilateral jaw reflex was negative, the bilateral Rossilimo's sign was negative, and the bilateral Babinski's sign was positive. Elizabeth Matula has normal depth of feeling and sensitivity to pain. She was unable to cooperate with the finger-nose test. The rapid rotation test was slow and the rhythm was uneven. She couldn't complete the finger pointing coordination test with the thumb and little finger. She couldn't complete the heel-knee-shin test. She also couldn't cooperate with the Romberg's test. There were no signs of meningeal irritation.

Treatment:

We initially gave Elizabeth Matula a complete examination. Then we proceeded with giving nutritional treatment for the neurons, eliminating oxygen radicals in the brain, and administering the self stem cells activation treatment to repair the damaged neurons. She received treatment to improve the blood circulation to increase the blood supply to the damaged neurons. We also gave her traditional Chinese medicine and daily physical rehabilitation.

Post-Treatment:

Elizabeth Matula's balance is better than before. She now has better control of both upper limbs and hands. She can perform the finger-to-nose test, and the finger pointing coordination test is more accurate. The rapid rotation test can be done more flexibly. The lower back strength has increased, and she can keep her balance while sitting in an upright position. The strength of the lower limbs has also increased. She is able to walk a few steps with some assistance.
 
The entire staff hopes that Elizabeth Matula will continue making solid improvements.