We will kick off our ground-breaking “Genetic Causes of Cerebral Palsy” study with an informative MyCP webinar next Wednesday, March 10, at 8 pm EST. 

Dr. Michael Kruer, a neurogeneticist and pediatric movement disorders neurologist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, will lead the study after receiving CPRN’s first publicly funded (NIH) grant to study the genetic causes of CP. 

Clinicians are hopeful that improved detection of a genetics origin for patients with CP will help individuals to gain treatments tailored to their unique situations faster and more efficiently. 

During the webinar, Dr Kruer will outline the function of the study as well as the types of findings that may be discovered and how those results may impact treatments. 

Three centers in the Cerebral Palsy Research Network will initially participate in the study; Phoenix Children’s Hospital, AZ, AI duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE, and Seattle Children’s Hospital, WA.  Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH, and Colorado Children’s in Denver, CO, have also expressed interest in participating. Other centers will be added during the course of the enrollment period that is set to end in 2023.

Dr. Kruer previously gave an overview of his research during a MyCP webinar in July 2020   Now, as he prepares to launch the study, he will share why genetics matter and detail recent findings about how genes play a role in the cause of CP. He will also outline who is eligible and how DNA samples will be collected. 

CP families receiving consultations at participating CPRN centers will be invited to enroll in whole exome sequencing analysis for the study which will examine the genetic factors between CP children and their parents. A hospital clinic visit is not necessary to enroll. Participants are required to have a diagnosis of CP. 

If you are not already signed up to view the MyCP webinar series, you can register here.