Genetics, not lack of oxygen, causes cerebral palsy in quarter of cases
University of AdelaideThe world’s largest study of cerebral palsy (CP) genetics has discovered genetic defects are most likely responsible for more than a quarter of cases in Chinese children, rather than a lack of oxygen at birth as previously thought. The study, published in the prestigious scientific journal, Nature Medicine, used modern genomic sequencing and found mutations were significantly higher in CP cases with birth asphyxia, indicating a lack of oxygen could be secondary to the underlying genetic defect.