Neural tube defects-disorders of neurulation and related embryonic processes

Methanol-induced neural tube defects in mice: pathogenesis during neurulation.

A spectrum of cephalic neural tube defects was observed in near-term (gestation day [GD] 17) mouse fetuses following maternal inhalation of methanol at a high concentration (15,000 ppm) for 6 hr/day during neurulation (GD 7-9). Dysraphism, chiefly exencephaly, occurred in 15% of fetuses, usually in association with reduction or absence of multiple bones in the craniofacial skeleton and ocular a...

Embryonic folate metabolism and mouse neural tube defects.

Folic acid prevents 70 percent of human neural tube defects (NTDs) but its mode of action is unclear. The deoxyuridine suppression test detects disturbance of folate metabolism in homozygous splotch (Pax3) mouse embryos that are developing NTDs in vitro. Excessive incorporation of [3H]thymidine in splotch embryos indicates a metabolic deficiency in the supply of folate for the biosynthesis of p...

Neural tube defects

lower limbs and other major organ malformations.4 Complex dysraphic states due to aberrant integration of the notochord include split cord malformation (SCM) or diastematomyelia: a congenital spinal anomaly in which there is longitudinal splitting of the spinal cord.5,6 Causes of NTDs are multifactorial and defects in several different genes can underlie the genetic basis of this disease.1 Howe...

Neural-tube defects.

Neural tube defects.

The purpose of this article is to describe the etiology of neural tube defects (NTDs) and the role of folic acid in their prevention. NTDs are all too common and devastating outcomes of many pregnancies. The brain and spinal cord malformations that develop during gestation in the NTD-affected pregnancies are expressed through various anomalies. Estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and P...