Congenital malformations such as lumbosacral transitional vertebrae and spina bifida occulta constitute unrare anomalies and could affect the symptomatology of low back pain. A transitional vertebra is characterized by elongation of one or both transverse processes, leading to the appearance ofa sacralized fifth lumbar vertebra or a lumbarized first sacral vertebra. Furthermore, sacral spina bi...

Chondromyxoid fibroma (CMF) is perhaps the rarest of all bone tumors. Classically it occurs in the metaphyseal region of the long bones surrounding the knee. The small bones of the feet are also commonly involved. But CMF occurring in small bones of the hand, however, is very uncommon. Tuberculous dactylitis is referred to as spina ventosa. The bones of the hands are more frequently affected th...

Examined self-reported depressive symptoms in 72 young people with spina bifida, ages 9 to 18:11, and matched able-bodied comparison subjects, using the Dimensions of Depression Profile for Children and Adolescents (Harter & Nowakowski, 1987). Independent variables included gender, self-perceptions (including physical appearance), and perceived social support. Young people with spina bifida wer...

Spina bifida, a congenital deformity of the posterior wall of vertebrae of the spine, is a midline defect of skin, vertebral arches and neural tube, usually in the lumbosacral region. Its incidence is reported to be 0.2 to 0.4 per 1000 live births. Various hypotheses have been put forward as etiological factors for spina bifida including consumption of potato affected by blight and hardness of ...

OBJECTIVES To describe the inpatient length of stay and related charges for adults in the United States with childhood-onset chronic disease and to examine patterns with respect to different hospital settings. DESIGN We analyzed data from the 2002 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a nationally representative data set of hospital discharges. We performed a case-mix-adjusted, sample-weighted regress...

We examined whether early gestational exposures to pesticides were associated with an increased risk of anencephaly, spina bifida, cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CLP), or cleft palate only. We used population-based data along with detailed information from maternal interviews. Exposure estimates were based on residential proximity to agricultural pesticide applications during early pre...

Introduction Spinal dysraphism is a term which was revived by Lichtenstein (1940) under which he grouped disorders arising from cutaneous, mesodermal or neural derivatives of the dorsal median region of the developing embryo. Within this broad classification must be included the sub-groups of spina bifida aperta with myeloschisis, myelomeningocele or meningocele and spina bifida occulta with or...

Failure of neural tube closure in the early embryo causes neural tube defects including spina bifida. Spina bifida lesions predominate in the distal spine, particularly after exposure to the anticonvulsant valproic acid (VPA). How VPA specifically disturbs late stages of neural tube closure is unclear, as neurulation is usually viewed as a uniform 'zippering' process along the spine. We recentl...