Conventional wisdom has historically linked oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery to cerebral palsy (CP), but a new study suggests that the majority of CP cases are actually due to genetic abnormalities in at least six genes.
A Medical News Today article dated January 30, 2012 discusses the study published in The Lancet Neurology:
Although there has been considerable improvements in neonatal and obstetric care for over 4 decades, the global prevalence of CP has remained stable at 2-3 per 1,000 live births.
. . .
David Ledbetter, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, Geisinger Health System, said:
“What we’re finding is that even though more preventative efforts have been put in place like fetal monitoring, the incidence of CP has not decreased. We’ve seen a five-fold increase in the rate of caesarean sections, which are doing in part to avoid potentially difficult delivery, and again, the CP rates remain steady. These findings lead us to believe genetics play a much bigger role than previously thought.”
. . .
Dr. Andres Moreno De Luca, M.D., research scientist at the Genomic Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health System, and lead research of the study, explains:
“We now know of six genes that can cause CP when disrupted, and we estimate that many other developmental brain genes probably contribute to the genetic heterogeneity of this disorder.”
This is consistent with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Health webpage “Cerebral Palsy: Hope Through Research” last updated November 4, 2011:
The majority of children with cerebral palsy are born with it, although it may not be detected until months or years later. This is called congenital cerebral palsy. In the past, if doctors couldn’t identify another cause, they attributed most cases of congenital cerebral palsy to problems or complications during labor that caused asphyxia (a lack of oxygen) during birth. However, extensive research by NINDS scientists and others has shown that few babies who experience asphyxia during birth grow up to have cerebral palsy or any other neurological disorder. Birth complications, including asphyxia, are now estimated to account for only 5 to 10 percent of the babies born with congenital cerebral palsy.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines cerebral palsy as, “any one of a number of neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination but aren’t progressive, in other words, they don’t get worse over time. “ Read more here.
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