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...

Introduction With technological advances in ultrasound, the quality of imaging is becoming equivalent to MRI. MRI at present is still considered the gold standard for imaging the neonatal spine in infants with spina bifida aperta, post spinal surgery and with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) excreting lesions. There is a high risk of infection in these conditions, which is a major contraindication for...

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 ...

OBJECTIVE Previous reports have suggested that the incidence of spina bifida occulta (SBO) in patients with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (PMNE) is higher than the general population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of spina bifida occulta on the medical treatment outcome of PMNE. MATERIAL AND METHODS Between January 2008 and December 2011, a total of 223 ...

The present study sought to assess the time trends of spina bifida on the basis of cases identified by the Liaoning Birth Defects Registry in 14 cities from 2006 to 2015. We calculated the prevalence of spina bifida, percent and average change of time trends, and contribution rates of each city. Poisson regression model was used to find the line of best fit for spina bifida prevalence by year, ...

Over 100 cases of arthrogryposis have been seen at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne in the past fifteen years and most of the patients are still under our care. This condition, which is characterised by multiple rigid joint deformities, occurs in families with an impeccable genetic background and there is no evidence of hereditary causation. The infants are born to young and older mot...