Spina Bifida News and Research

RSS

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.

Pesticides, pollutants increase risk of spina bifida and anencephaly in rural China

Pesticides and pollutants are related to an alarming 450 percent increase in the risk of spina bifida and anencephaly in rural China, according to scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Peking University.

20 Oct 2011

High glucose and oxidative stress stimulate AMPK in embryo

In a paper published today in Diabetologia, a team at Joslin Diabetes Center, headed by Mary R. Loeken, PhD, has identified the enzyme AMP kinase (AMPK) as key to the molecular mechanism that significantly increases the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida and some heart defects among babies born to women with diabetes.

18 Oct 2011

UPC develops active knee-ankle orthosis to assist gait in people with incomplete SCI

A team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Biomedical Engineering Research Centre (CREB) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. BarcelonaTech (UPC) has developed an active knee-ankle orthosis to assist gait in people with incomplete spinal cord injury. The project is being carried out in collaboration with the University of A Coruña and the University of Extremadura.

12 Oct 2011

Weill Cornell receives NIH's T-R01 Award for spina bifida research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year, $5.5 million Transformative Research Project (T-R01) Award to fund research into risk factors for spina bifida and related congenital defects in which an area of the affected baby's spine or brain is not fully enclosed.

27 Sep 2011

NC researchers proposes health-based approach to identify groups at high risk of genocide

Researchers from North Carolina State University are proposing a health-based approach to identifying groups at high risk of genocide, in a first-of-its-kind attempt to target international efforts to stop these mass killings before they start.

20 Sep 2011

Invacare announces winners of Real Life campaign contest

Invacare Corporation, the global leader in the manufacture and distribution of home and long-term care medical products, today announced the winners of its Real Life campaign contest.

30 Aug 2011

Lab grown windpipe saves cancer patient

A team of doctors have replaced the cancer affected windpipe of a patient with an organ made in a lab. This is a medical breakthrough for regenerative medicine. The patient no longer has cancer and is expected to have a normal life expectancy, doctors said.

10 Jul 2011

Mothers' B vitamin intake protects children against intestinal tumors

Mice born to mothers who are fed a diet supplemented with B vitamins are less likely to develop intestinal tumors, report scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University.

10 Jun 2011

Folic acid during pregnancy reduces rate of colon cancer in offspring

Folic acid supplements given to pregnant and breast-feeding rats reduced the rate of colon cancer in their offspring by 64 per cent, a new study has found.

27 May 2011

Extensive folic acid fortification of foods prevents neural tube defects in neonates

Neural tube defects in neonates are common in Germany compared with the rest of Europe. Extensive folic acid fortification of foods in Germany might prevent these in 85-100% of cases, Wolfgang Herrmann and Rima Obeid argue in this issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108[15]; 249-54).

30 Apr 2011

Softgels as effective as tablets in delivering folic acid

Folic acid, an essential vitamin formulated to be part of a multivitamin + DHA liquid softgel capsule, is absorbed and available within the body in amounts similar to folic acid formulated for solid tablets, according to a study presented in a late breaking session at the Experimental Biology (EB) 2011 annual meeting.

28 Apr 2011

Early surgery, timely treatment and prenatal diagnosis can help prevent oral clefts

Affecting more than 7,000 U.S. babies each year, cleft lip and/or cleft palate are the second most common birth defect, the cause of which continues to mystify scientists despite growing evidence of a complex interplay of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors.

22 Apr 2011

Teenagers with scoliosis can benefit from new generation spine implants

Teenagers who undergo spine fusion for scoliosis using the newest surgical techniques can expect to be doing well 10 years after surgery, according to a Hospital for Special Surgery study published online ahead of print in the TK issue of the journal Spine.

6 Apr 2011

More research needed to determine link between folic acid and breast cancer

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

Seven-year study demonstrates clear benefits of fetal surgery to treat spina bifida in babies

Results of a landmark, seven-year National Institutes of Health-funded trial, Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS), demonstrate clear benefit for babies who undergo fetal surgery to treat spina bifida, the most common birth defect in the central nervous system.

11 Feb 2011

Women with high folic acid levels may impact child's risk of developing asthma

Recent Norwegian research suggests that there may be a connection between high levels of folic acid in pregnant mothers and the development of asthma in their children. However, the researchers stress that pregnant women should continue to take folic acid supplements.

10 Feb 2011

New study: Fetal surgery for spina bifida greatly improves child's mobility

Performing delicate surgery in the womb, months before birth, can substantially improve outcomes for children with a common, disabling birth defect of the spine. Experts at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia co-led a new landmark study showing that fetal surgery for spina bifida greatly reduces the need to divert fluid from the brain, improves mobility and improves the chances that a child will be able to walk independently.

9 Feb 2011

Bayer's SAFYRAL oral contraceptive receives FDA approval

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new oral contraceptive (OC), SAFYRAL™ (drospirenone 3 mg/ ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg/ levomefolate calcium 451 mcg tablets and levomefolate calcium 451 mcg tablets). In women who choose an OC for birth control, SAFYRAL raises folate levels for the purpose of reducing the risk of rare neural tube defects (NTDs) in a pregnancy conceived while taking SAFYRAL or shortly after discontinuing it.

17 Dec 2010

Screening for CCDC40 gene mutations may help determine risk for congenital heart defects

A gene that can cause congenital heart defects has been identified by a team of scientists, including a group from Princeton University. The discovery could lead to new treatments for those affected by the conditions brought on by the birth defect.

7 Dec 2010