Genetic Abnormalities May Cause Cerebral Palsy, Study Suggests
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126101451.htm
ScienceDaily (Jan. 26, 2012) — For years it was thought that a difficult birth and other perinatal factors were the leading causes of cerebral palsy (CP), a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing and thinking. Now, researchers at Geisinger Health System find that the majority of cerebral palsy causes may in fact be caused by genetic abnormalities.
Published in the The Lancet Neurology, Geisinger researchers find that CP -- the most common physical disability of childhood -- is probably caused by multiple genetic factors, similar to other neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and intellectual disability. The paper suggests physicians should consider performing genetic testing when children present with CP and CP-like conditions.
"There is a widespread misconception that most cases of CP are caused by difficult delivery leading to birth asphyxia," said Andres Moreno De Luca, M.D., research scientist at the Genomic Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health System, and lead author of the paper. "What we're finding is a growing body of evidence that suggests mutations in multiple genes are responsible for CP. In fact, we suspect these genetic abnormalities may also be the cause of some difficult births to begin with."