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Cerebral palsy can be inherited
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Cerebral palsy (CP) was previously considered a non-hereditary disease, but recent studies have refuted this theory. Recent studies by scientists show that the likelihood of CP developing in children whose one parent suffers from this disease is higher.
Cerebral palsy leads to pathological disorders of the skeletal muscles, which over time reduce mobility and cause quite severe pain. In addition to problems with motor activity, problems with hearing, vision, speech, seizures, and mental disorders may also be observed.
The main cause of the development of cerebral palsy is considered to be the abnormal development or death of some area of the child's brain.
Currently, the main risks of developing cerebral palsy include abnormal pregnancy and childbirth, but this topic has not been sufficiently studied and specialists continue to work in this area.
A group of specialists from Norway studied hereditary patterns in the risks of developing cerebral palsy among relatives. Scientists used data from more than two million Norwegians who were born between 1967 and 2002, among whom they identified more than three thousand cases of cerebral palsy, and among twins, the likelihood of developing cerebral palsy was higher (if one of the twins developed the disease, the risk of the other increasing 15 times).
The experts studied family members of the first, second and third lines of kinship.
The specialists also managed to establish that in a family with a child with cerebral palsy, the probability of the disease developing in subsequent children increased significantly. If one of the parents had cerebral palsy, the risk of having a child with the same diagnosis increased by 6.5 times. In addition, the authors of the study noted that the results of the studies did not depend on gender.
The equal chances of developing the disease in twins, both same and different sexes, indicate that heredity may be one of the many causes of cerebral palsy.
Experts noted that this study is limited in nature, since not all people diagnosed with cerebral palsy decide to start a family and have a child.
Cerebral palsy is often confused with infantile paralysis, which occurs as a result of poliomyelitis.
The disease was first identified and described by the British doctor Little at the beginning of the 19th century (later this disease received another name - Little's disease). According to the British doctor, the cause of the development of cerebral palsy was difficult childbirth, during which the child experiences severe oxygen starvation.
But later, Sigmund Freud, who also studied this disease, suggested that the development of cerebral palsy is provoked by damage to the structure of the central nervous system that occurs during fetal development in the womb. Freud's theory received official confirmation in the 80s of the twentieth century.
In addition, Freud compiled a classification of forms of cerebral palsy, which was used as a basis by modern specialists.
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