Taking corticosteroids during pregnancy is shown to have no significant correlation with developing cerebral palsy in preterm births.Cooling high-risk full-term babies shortly after birth may reduce disability, but this may only be useful for some forms of the brain damage that causes CP. Management
Over time, the approach to CP management has shifted away from narrow attempts to fix individual physical problems – such as spasticity in a particular limb – to making such treatments part of a larger goal of maximizing the persons independence and community engagement. : 886   However, the evidence base for the effectiveness of intervention programs reflecting the philosophy of independence has not yet caught up: effective interventions for body structures and functions have a strong evidence base, but evidence is lacking for effective interventions targeted toward participation, environment, or personal factors. There is also no good evidence to show that an intervention that is effective at the body-specific level will result in an improvement at the activity level or vice versa. Although such cross-over benefit might happen, not enough high-quality studies have been done to demonstrate it.Because cerebral palsy has "varying severity and complexity" across the lifespan, it can be considered a collection of conditions for management purposes. A multidisciplinary approach for cerebral palsy management is recommended, focusing on "maximising individual function, choice and independence" in line with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Healths goals.
In 2011, an international consensus group adopted a definition of cachexia as "a multifactorial syndrome defined by an ongoing loss of skeletal muscle mass (with or without loss of fat mass) that can be partially but not entirely reversed by conventional nutritional support. "Cachexia differs from weight loss due to malnutrition from malabsorption, anorexia nervosa, or anorexia due to major depressive disorder. Weight loss from inadequate caloric intake generally causes fat loss before muscle loss, whereas cachexia causes predominantly muscle wasting. Cachexia is also distinct from sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss, although they often co-exist. Treatment
The management of cachexia depends on the underlying cause, the general prognosis, and the needs of the person affected. The most effective approach to cachexia is treating the underlying disease process. An example is the reduction in cachexia from AIDS by highly active antiretroviral therapy. However this is often not possible or maybe inadequate to reverse the cachexia syndrome in other diseases. Approaches to mitigate muscle loss include exercise, nutritional therapies, and medications. Exercise
Therapy that includes regular physical exercise can be recommended for the treatment of cachexia due to the positive effects of exercise on skeletal muscle but current evidence remains uncertain as to its effectiveness, acceptability and safety for cancer patients. Individuals with cachexia generally report low levels of physical activity and few engage in an exercise routine, owing to low motivation to exercise and a belief that exercising may worsen their symptoms or cause harm.