The spatial knowledge of 18 children with spina bifida and 18 healthy control children (matched according to sex, age, and verbal IQ) was investigated in a computer-simulated environment. All children had to learn a route through a virtual floor system containing 18 landmarks. Controlling for cognitive abilities, the results revealed that children with spina bifida showed impaired route knowled...

BACKGROUND Population-based empirical information to inform health care professionals working with children with spina bifida currently is lacking. Spina bifida is a highly complex condition that not only affects mobility but many additional aspects of life. We have developed a pilot project that focuses on a broad range of domains: surgeries, development and learning, nutrition and physical gr...

This communication continues the analysis of data accumulated from a series of cases of spina bifida cystica observed during the years 1949 to 1958. In earlier papers, attention was drawn to the magnitude of the problem presented by these cases and to the amount of medical and surgical care which they require (Doran and Guthkelch, 1961) and to certain complications which need consideration in p...

Spina Bifida is a neural tube defect (NTD), which occurs within the first 25 days of pregnancy and affects around 1 in 1000 pregnancies in Europe. It cannot be cured, although improved medical interventions mean that many people with Spina Bifida live into old age and have a good quality of life. However lifelong follow-up is required. IF is an umbrella organisation of national organisations of...

Spina bifida is one of the most common neural tube defects (NTDs) with a complex etiology. Variants in planar cell polarity (PCP) genes have been associated with NTDs including spina bifida in both animal models and human cohorts. In this study, we sequenced all exons of CELSR1 in 192 spina bifida patients from a California population to determine the contribution of CELSR1 mutations in the stu...

Spina bifida is among the phenotypes of the larger condition known as neural tube defects (NTDs). It is the most common central nervous system malformation compatible with life and the second leading cause of birth defects after congenital heart defects. In this review paper, we define spina bifida and discuss the phenotypes seen in humans as described by both surgeons and embryologists in orde...

The marriage-to-conception interval in 151 pregnancies producing infants with anencephaly or spina bifida was not significantly different from that in 218 pregnancies resulting in normal infants. Significantly more miscarriages occurred before than after the birth of 285 infants with anencephaly or spina bifida, but in 133 controls no before-after difference was observed. These observations see...

Spina bifida is a generic term describing malformations of the central nervous system in infants. Over 1000 cases of spina bifida were notified in England and Wales in 1971, but this had declined to 360 in 1985, partly due to maternal screening and the acceptance of therapeutic abortion. This paper reviews hypotheses about the causes of spina bifida and uses Poisson probabilities and regression...

Spina bifida is one of the most prevalent major birth malformations with a worldwide incidence of approximately 1:2,000 live births. A myelomeningocele (MMC) is the most frequent form of spina bifida, characterized by the extrusion of the spinal cord and/or nerves through a bony defect of the spine into a sac filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The severity of symptoms is correlated with the...

PURPOSE Low self-concept and self-esteem are thought to be the main predictors of psychological problems in children and adolescents. Children with spina bifida are thought to be at an increased risk for low self-concept and self-esteem given their disabilities. We examined the impact of urinary continence on self-concept in children with myelomeningocele. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 50 ...