Genome-wide analysis of circular RNAs in cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a spectrum of non-progressive motor disorders caused by brain injury during fetal or postnatal periods. Current diagnosis of CP mainly relies on neuroimaging and motor assessment, and we aimed to explore novel biomarkers for CP diagnosis in the present study. Blood plasma from five CP children and their healthy twin brothers/sisters was analyzed by gene microarray to screen out differential expressed circular RNAs (circRNAs). Five CP children and their healthy twins were selected in our study to exclude interfering factors (Average age: 3.3 ± 1.5, average birth weight: 2.9 ± 0.4 kg). Additional 30 pairs of CP children and healthy controls were recruited for subsequent validation of differential expressed circRNAs (Age: 4.2 ± 1.6; average birth weight: 3.1 ± 0.6 kg). Inclusive criteria: ①undergo no drug therapy; ② with complete clinical information; Exclusive criteria: ① acute/chronic infectious diseases, connective tissue diseases or malignant tumor; ② recent use of immunosuppressant; ③ injury of liver and kidney function.