Myelomeningocele News and Research

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Review: Latest findings in the spina bifida-related care of many comorbidities

Open spina bifida (SB), a neural tube defect (NTD), also known as myelomeningocele, remains the most complex congenital abnormality of the central nervous system compatible with long term survival.

21 Feb 2023

Second patient receives landmark fetal surgery and stem cell procedure

At Michelle Johnson's 20-week ultrasound, she received the distressing news that her developing baby was diagnosed with myelomeningocele, also known as spina bifida.

11 Oct 2022

Landmark clinical trial aims to treat spina bifida before birth

Three babies have been born after receiving the world's first spina bifida treatment combining surgery with stem cells. This was made possible by a landmark clinical trial at UC Davis Health.

7 Oct 2022

Researchers examine whether regenerative patch for spina bifida defect can promote healing

Researchers are investigating whether a human umbilical cord patch placed on the spina bifida defect could improve healing after minimally invasive fetoscopic surgery in a clinical trial at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

14 Dec 2020

Spina bifida surgery before birth more effective at healing neurological structure

Surgery performed on a fetus in the womb to repair defects from spina bifida triggers the body's ability to restore normal brain structure, Mayo Clinic research discovered.

1 Apr 2020

Study: Benefits of fetal surgery to repair spina bifida continue through school age

The benefits of fetal surgery to repair spina bifida, a procedure pioneered at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in 1997, continue through school age, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study reports today in the journal Pediatrics.

24 Jan 2020

Fetal surgery for spina bifida makes a huge difference 10 years later

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics shows that children with spina bifida, a congenital spinal disorder, who had corrective surgery in the womb, show significantly more benefit than those whose operations were performed after birth, even a decade later. These children have more of a chance to walk by themselves and a lower risk of needing more surgeries, compared to those whose condition is corrected only after birth.

23 Jan 2020

Experts highlight emerging trends in spina bifida care

In this collection of articles in the Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine experts highlight the emerging trends in spina bifida care in response to challenges faced by spina bifida patients and their physicians due to demographic shifts in age and ethnicity and other societal factors.

16 Jan 2020

Unique program to initiate breastfeeding in vulnerable infants

The benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child are well-recognized, including for late preterm infants. But because LPI do not have fully developed brains, they may experience difficulties latching and/or sustaining a latch on the breast to have milk transfer occur.

8 Oct 2019

CNS develops evidence-based guidelines for treatment of pediatric myelomeningocele

The Congress of Neurological Surgeons has developed an evidence-based guideline for the treatment of patients with myelomeningocele.

21 Aug 2019

Newborns with spina bifida have sleep-disordered breathing in first days of life, study finds

New parents often hear about how important sleep is for their babies' development -- but some newborns may have more serious sleep challenges than others.

19 Dec 2017

Researchers evaluate effects of laser tissue welding on spina bifida repair

In a study to be presented Saturday, Jan. 28, in the oral concurrent session at 8:45 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; IBEX, Logan, Utah; and Laser Tissue Welding Inc., Houston, Texas collaborated on a study titled, Evaluation of the effects of laser tissue welding on the spinal cord and skin in a 30 day study of simulated spina bifida repair in rabbits.

23 Jan 2017

Risk factors for hospital readmission after pediatric neurosurgical procedures

Researchers at The University of Alabama at Birmingham have determined specific risk factors associated with hospital readmission following pediatric neurosurgery.

17 May 2016

Xiao procedure lacks efficacy for bladder control in children

Researchers at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital report the results of a double-blinded randomized controlled trial of the "Xiao procedure" in children with spina bifida.

3 May 2016

Excessive fat accumulation in lower extremities of children linked to insulin resistance, metabolic disorders

Children with a severe type of spina bifida called myelomeningocele have a high prevalence of obesity and excess fat accumulation in their lower extremities. In a study designed to assess bone, muscle and fat tissue distribution in the lower legs of children with this disease, researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles determined that this excess fat tissue is within the muscle boundary (muscle-associated) rather than subcutaneous.

15 Mar 2016

Smartphone app may improve self-management skills in young patients with spina bifida

A system incorporating a smartphone app may help adolescents and young adults with spina bifida to improve their daily self-management skills, suggests a paper in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the official journal of the Association of Academic Physiatrists. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

23 Oct 2015

Fetuses with enlarged ventricles are not ideal candidates for fetal spina bifida surgery

Fetuses with enlarged ventricles--the fluid-filled cavities inside the brain--may be less likely than other fetuses to benefit from surgery in the womb to treat spina bifida, according to a study co-authored by researchers at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco.

16 Sep 2015

Prenatal repair of myelomeningocele reduces need for CSF shunt within 12 months of life, shows MOMS data

Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS) investigators analyzed updated data on the effects of prenatal myelomeningocele closure on the need for placement of a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt within the first 12 months of life.

15 Sep 2015

GW plays key role in NIH's Management of Myelomeningocele Study

Researchers at The George Washington University Medical Center played a key role in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study of a surgical procedure to repair a common birth defect of the spine, which if undertaken while a baby is still in the uterus, greatly reduces the need to divert, or shunt, fluid away from the brain. The study was published online in the New England Journal of Medicine on February 9, 2011.

14 Feb 2011

Surgical procedure to repair spina bifida while still in the uterus may help the baby walk after birth

More than two thousand physicians, some of the top obstetric/gynecologists in the world who specialize in maternal-fetal medicine, especially high risk pregnancies, gathered today for their annual meeting in San Francisco to begin four days of intensive research presentations. Presentations each year at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, represent major findings in reducing high-risk pregnancies and complications.

11 Feb 2011