Spina bifida is a birth defect in which there’s incomplete closing of this backbone and membranes around the spinal cord. There are 3 main kinds: spina bifida occulta, meningocele, and myelomeningocele. The most frequent location is the lower spine, however, in rare instances it can be the middle neck or back. Occulta doesn’t have only moderate signals. Signals of occulta might incorporate a hairy patch, dimple, dark place, or swelling on the trunk at the website of this gap at the backbone. Meningocele typically causes moderate issues with a sac of fluid found in the gap at the spine.Myelomeningocele, also called open spina bifida, is the most acute form. Learning issues are comparatively uncommon.
Spina bifida is part of a set of birth defects called neural tube defects. The neural tube is the embryonic structure that eventually develops into the baby’s brain and spinal cord along with the cells that enclose them.
Ordinarily, the neural tube forms early in the pregnancy and shuts by the 28th day after conception. In infants with spina bifida, a section of the neural tube fails to grow or close properly, causing defects in the spinal cord and at the bones of the spine.
Spina bifida occurs in a variety of sorts of severity. When a cure for spina bifida is essential, it is done surgically, but this therapy does not always completely solve the issue.
Symptoms
Spina bifida occurs in three forms, each varying in severity.
Spina bifida occulta
This mildest form ends in a little gap or gap in at least one of these bones (vertebrae) of the backbone. Since the spinal nerves normally are not involved, many children with this kind of spina bifida don’t have any symptoms or signs and encounter no neurological issues.
Visible signs of spina bifida occulta can sometimes be viewed on the toddler’s skin over the spinal defect, such as:
- An abnormal tuft of hair
- A collection of fat
- A small dimple or birthmark
Many people who have spina bifida occulta don’t even know it, unless the condition is discovered during an X-ray or other imaging test done for unrelated reasons.
Meningocele
Within this uncommon type, the bronchial membranes around the spinal cord (meninges) push out through the opening in the vertebrae. Since the spinal cord develops normally, these membranes could be taken out by surgery with minimal if any harm to neural pathways.
Myelomeningocele
Also called open spina bifida, myelomeningocele is the most serious form — and also the kind people normally mean when they use the expression “spina bifida.”
In myelomeningocele, the infant’s spinal canal remains open along many vertebrae in the middle or lower back. Due to this opening, the two membranes and the spinal cord protrude at dawn, forming a sac on the infant’s back.
Sometimes, skin covers the sac. Normally, however, nerves and cells are exposed, which makes the infant prone to life-threatening ailments.
Neurological disability is common, for example:
- Muscle weakness of the legs, sometimes involving paralysis
- Bowel and bladder problems
- Seizures, especially if the child requires a shunt
- Orthopedic problems — such as deformed feet, uneven hips and a curved spine (scoliosis)
Causes
Doctors are not sure what causes spina bifida. Much like a number of different difficulties, it seems to result from a mixture of environmental and genetic risk factors, like a family history of neural tube defects and folic acid deficiency.
Prevention
Folic acid, obtained in supplement form beginning a minimum of one month before conception and continuing throughout the first trimester of pregnancy, considerably lessens the chance of spina bifida and other neural tube defects.
Get folic acid first
It is essential to get enough folic acid in the body by the early months of pregnancy to reduce spina bifida. Since many women do not find that they are pregnant at this moment, experts recommend that most women of childbearing age take a daily supplement of 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid.
A number of foods, such as bread, rice, pasta and breakfast cereals, are fortified with 400 mcg of folic acid per serving. Folic acid might be listed on food packages as folate, that’s the pure form of folic acid found in foods.
