Spina Bifida News and Research

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Spina bifida is a neural tube defect that happens in the first month of pregnancy when the spinal column does not close completely. According to the Mayo Clinic, approximately one in every 2,000 children born in the U.S. is diagnosed with spina bifida. Risk factors include the presence of a neural tube defect in a previous child, lack of folic acid, some medications, diabetes and the mother's age. Most patients with spina bifida have neurogenic bladders. Neurogenic bladders function poorly and over time, without correction, can result in kidney damage and ultimately kidney failure.

Families with sick kids on Medicaid seek easier access to out-of-state hospitals

Three-year-old Elizabeth Zakutansky was born with a rare genetic condition that causes multiple seizures. Her neurologist, a top expert on treating her condition, practices at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, less than an hour's drive from the Zakutanskys' home in Hobart, Indiana. Her parents would like her to get all her care there.

5 Apr 2021

FDA approves new indication for drug to treat pediatric NDO patients

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new indication for Myrbetriq (mirabegron extended-release tablets) and Myrbetriq Granules (mirabegron for extended-release oral suspension) to treat neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO), a bladder dysfunction related to neurological impairment, in children ages three years and older.

25 Mar 2021

Uninherited genetic mutations can cause spina bifida

Genetic mutations which occur naturally during the earliest stages of an embryo's development can cause the severe birth defect spina bifida, finds a new experimental study in mice led by UCL scientists.

19 Feb 2021

Updated spina bifida guidelines cover care across the entire lifespan

Globally, nearly 300,000 babies are born with neural tube defects including spina bifida (SB) each year.

9 Feb 2021

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

Researchers receive $8.3 million NIH grant to illuminate the causes of spina bifida

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, have been awarded a five-year, $8.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to further illuminate the causes of spina bifida, the most common structural defect of the central nervous system.

20 Nov 2020

Doctors propose ways to reduce obstetrical complications in women with endometriosis

A team of doctors from RUDN University with their Italian colleagues had studied the data of existing studies on the effect of endometriosis on pregnancy and childbirth and suggested ways to reduce obstetrical complications in women with this condition.

15 Oct 2020

High levels of folic acid during pregnancy could harm brain development of embryos

A UC Davis MIND Institute study of pregnant mice found that high amounts of folic acid during pregnancy harmed the brain development of embryos. Researchers say the findings indicate that more investigation is needed about the best recommended dosage for pregnant women.

5 Oct 2020

Pandemic upends the lives of people with disabilities — and of their caregivers

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Stacy Ellingen, 34, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, lost two of the three caregivers she depends on to dress, shower, eat and use the bathroom. The caregivers — both University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh students — returned to their parents’ homes when the university canceled in-person classes.

17 Jun 2020

Study shows high folate levels associated with improved cognition in older adults

A new study led by researchers from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at Trinity College Dublin challenges claims from some international scientific circles, that having high blood levels of folate (folic acid) increases the risk of poor cognition in older adults, especially in those with low levels of vitamin B12.

16 Jun 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

Low folate levels associated with malnutrition in hospital patients

About 10% of patients who come to complex care hospitals may have low levels of folate and other indicators of malnutrition, investigators say.

18 Feb 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

Review: Benefits, safety of fortifying wheat or maize flour with folic acid and health outcomes

Folate is an essential B-vitamin that is needed for DNA synthesis and cell division. Folate deficiency can lead to anemia, and deficiency early in pregnancy can lead to neural tube defects – birth defects of the brain, spine and spinal cord, including spina bifida.

27 Nov 2019

Six ways physicians can help optimize reproductive health in women with epilepsy

Worldwide, more than 15 million women of childbearing age have epilepsy. Each year about 600,000 of them become pregnant.

20 Nov 2019

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

Research team receives federal grant to study obesity in children with spina bifida

Children with spina bifida, a congenital condition of the spine and spinal cord, have a higher rate of obesity compared to typically developing peers. One barrier to better prevention of obesity is accurately assessing body fat.

10 Jul 2019