SPINA BIFIDA

• By Luke Hippler

SPINA BIFIDA

• Spina Bifida is also referred to as split spine.
• Doctors do not know exactly how the disease is caused, but suspect that genetic, nutritional, and environmental factors all play a role. Research shows that an insufficient intake of folic acid (Vitamin B) in the mothers diet is a key factor in cause spina Bifida and other neural tube defects.
• (Spina Bifida Fact)

BACKGROUND

• The history of this disease traces back almost 12,000 years when Professor Nicholas Tulp of Amsterdam. Spina bifida is a type of birth defect called a neural tube defect. It occurs when the bones of the spine (vertebrae) don't form properly around part of the baby's spinal cord.
• (Spina Bifida Topic Overview)

TRANSMISSION

• Spina Bifida does not follow a strict inheritance pattern, but hereditary factors do play a role in transmission.
• It is believed that the mother not getting enough folic acid is a leading factor of the disease.
• (Stöppler)

SYMPTOMS

• Spina Bifida can be diagnosed during the second trimester of a pregnancy. Also common: hunched back, intellectual disability, nerve injury, paralysis, paralysis of the body's lower half, or physical deformity
• Closed neural tube defects are often recognized early in life due to an abnormal tuft or clump of hair or a small dimple or birthmark on the skin at the site of the spinal malformation.
• Maternal serum alpha fetoprotein (MSAFP) screening and fetal ultrasound measure the amount of protein made by placenta and fetus.
• (Spina Bifida facts)

AFFECTS

• Babies are primarily effected by this disease, but children and adults are also affected because it can be a life-long disease.
• (History of Spina Bifida)

TREATMENTS

• There is no cure to spina bifida, however, there is a number of treatments.
• Surgery can be performed before the baby is born to reduce the defect.
• Surgery can also be done after birth on the defect.
• After, medication and physical therapy are the most common treatments.
• The higher the defect is on the spinal chord, the higher the risk of paralysis, so treatment decreases.
• (Stöppler)

PREVENTION

• The best way to prevent the disease is for the mother to get folic acid into the diet while pregnant. Women who take in the proper amount of folic acid decrease the risk of a neural tube defect by 70%.
• Also, know your family has a history of neural tube defects.
• (History of Spina Bifida)

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WORKS CITED

• "Spina Bifida Fact Sheet." : National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.
• Stöppler, Melissa. "Spina Bifida and Anencephaly: Symptoms and Treatment." MedicineNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.
• "The History of Spina Bifida." Transitions and A Medically Complex Child. N.p., 20 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. Website

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