Gene That Increases Risk of Cerebral Palsy Identified

Several Professors at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine and researchers at Children’s Memorial Research Center have identified a gene that may raise the risk of cerebral palsy in children who have suffered early-life brain injury.

According to the study, children who have E4 allele of the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene are more susceptible to developing cerebral palsy after injury to the brain. Furthermore, scientists also found that the gene is linked to the heightened risk of Alzheimer’s disease in adults.

“If a baby is born with an E4 allele, then if they undergo some kind of perinatal brain injury, they are more likely to develop cerebral palsy,” said Mark Wainwright, a professor of pediatric neurology at Feinberg. “The gene isn’t causing the cerebral palsy. It’s making you at greater risk to develop it, but another injury is needed.”

Study Details

Every person has at least two of the three alleles of the APOE gene, which aids in the production of apoE protein. This protein is also involved in brain repair. However, E4 forms a protein that is less likely to help regulate brain swelling after an injury. So people with E4 have an increased likelihood of sustaining permanent brain damage following an injury.

Knowing this, researchers analyzed the APOE gene in 209 young children with cerebral palsy and compared it against the protein in healthy children of the same race, gender, and ethnicity. They concluded that children with E4 allele who suffer injury to the brain are more likely to develop cerebral palsy.

“A majority of times we don’t know what causes cerebral palsy,” said professor of pediatrics Maxine Kuroda. The findings in this study could help physicians identify which children are susceptible to developing the condition after a brain injury.

However, researchers do say more studies are needed to confirm the results.

Does your child have cerebral palsy? It may have been caused by medical malpractice. Please contact us today to speak with a qualified and compassionate cerebral palsy attorney about your legal rights and options.