West Bloomfield's Preemie Growth Project believes micronutrients could help children with cerebral palsy

By KEVIN GRAHAM Special to The Oakland Press

Caregiver Pat Dodge helps Dakota Jenkins, 7, shortly after he started taking supplements provided by nonprofit Preemie Growth Project, based in West Bloomfield. The micronutrient is believed to help those with cerebral palsy become less impaired. Submitted photo

A new treatment previously used with premature babies is now being utilized to help fight cerebral palsy.

According to the National Institutes of Health, cerebral palsy is a disease caused by injuries to the brain before, during or after birth. It causes neuromuscular problems, which might range from mild to severe in nature, and might affect all or part of the body.

The Centers for Disease Control said an estimated 10,000 babies are born each year in the U.S. with cerebral palsy.

The Preemie Growth Project, a nonprofit group based in West Bloomfield, is conducting test cases of a new micronutrient formula that it says could help children with cerebral palsy.

The treatment was discovered at Childrens Hospital in Detroit last year. A 9-month-old boy diagnosed with cerebral palsy went from 12 pounds to 22 pounds in just 10 weeks, said Ida Briggs, the executive director and founder of the Preemie Growth Project.

There are no scientific studies that support the belief that micronutrients can improve function of children with cerebral palsy.

The FDA does not have to review claims by promoters of the micronutrient treatment because it is not medicine.

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West Bloomfield's Preemie Growth Project believes micronutrients could help children with cerebral palsy