Bringing Cerebral Palsy (CP) Into the Genomics Era

Abstract

As the most common childhood-onset motor disability, cerebral palsy (CP) affects 764,000 individuals in the United States alone and accounts for lifetime healthcare expenses of $1.4 million per person. In approximately 20% of cases (or 150,000 individuals), the cause is unknown, raising concern for a genetic disorder, including treatable conditions where a molecular diagnosis may positively alter the trajectory of a child’s development. Our research aims to (1) determine the genetic landscape of CP, including potentially treatable conditions (2) develop rules to predict which individuals with CP are likely to have a genetic disorder and (3) contribute to an emerging scientific understanding of the pathophysiology of CP that will impact a large patient population.