Spina Bifida Spina Bifida is a birth defect that occurs during your pregnancy. It affects the spinal cord and if they find out before the birth they will deliver the fetus by C section. They like to deliver the fetus this way so as not to damage the spinal cord any further. The spinal cord has an opening and it must be closed as soon as possible to prevent infection. The spot that the opening happens on is the area of the body that will be affected. If the opening was high on the spinal cord the area that will be affected is the brain, if it is low on the cord the part of the body that is affected will be the bladder and kidneys. Surgery is done only to close the opening, what doesn’t work before the surgery will not work after the surgery it is only done to ward off infection. The baby has to be evaluated to see if it will need a shunt to control fluid in the brain area. The babies that have this condition need to get the fluid drained and this condition is called hydrocephalous. Most babies and children have to wear shoes on their feet all the time because they have no feeling in the bottom of the feet and can’t tell if it is hot or cold, so in winter they could get frostbite and in summer they could burn their feet on the hot pavement. This disease is not curable at this time only its symptoms are managed if they can be. The Federal Government, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke a component of the National Institute of Health supports research on the brain and nervous system disorders including Spina Bifida. The Institute is conducting research at laboratories in Bethesda, Maryland. In one study by the institute scientists are looking at the hereditary basis of neural tube defects. The goal of the research is to find the genetic facts that make some children more susceptible to neural tube defects than others. Lessons learned from this research will fill in the gaps of knowledge about the causes of neural tube defects and may lead to ways to prevent these disorders. These researchers are also studying gene expression during the process of neural tube closure, which will provide information on the human nervous system during development. In addition scientists are working to identify, characterize, and evaluate genes for neural tube defects. The goal is to understand the genetics of neural tube closure and develop information that will translate into improved clinical care treatment and genetic counseling. Scientists are still studying genetic risk factors for Spina Bifida, especially those that diminish or lessen the function of folic acid in the mother during pregnancy possibly leading to Spina Bifida in the fetus. The study is to shed light on how folic acid prevents Spina Bifida and may lead to improved forms of folic supplements. The institute is also conducting a new range of basis research to understand how the brain and nervous system develop. “The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is conducting a 5 year study to determine if fetal surgery to correct Spina Bifida in the womb is safer and more effective than traditional surgery. This study is called MOMS meaning management of myelomeningocele study which is published in an Article from Medicine about Spina Bifida on page 5. “There is a new surgery called Foetal surgery which a study was published 2/9/11 New England Journal of Medicine. This is the first time in history we can offer real hope to parents of children with spina bifida. The Foetal surgery was sponsored as a clinical trial for myelomeningocele which is the most severe form of Spina Bifida. Adzich who lead a team at Chop states that this is not a cure, but this trial demonstrated scientifically that we can offer Foetal Surgery as a standard care for Spina Bifida. Foetal surgery research has now reported long awaited results from an unprecedented clinical trial that compared outcomes of prenatal or Foetal surgery verses postnatal surgery for this disabling neurological condition. Two and a half years after Foetal surgery children with Spina Bifida were better able to walk when compared to children who received surgery shortly after birth. Patients who received Foetal surgery also scored better on test of motor functions within a year after Foetal surgery. They were less likely to need a shunt to drain fluid from the brain which was from a bioresearch study” “Stem cells are being used for treatment of Spina Bifida and it is seeing a life turning improvement which was posted in a press release of 2/3/10”. “A new treatment available today is donated umbilical cord blood stem cells and it is happening in China today as posted to a video of 2010”. “There is a new treatment for Hydrocephalus at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Dr. Warf developed an innovative surgical technique that has successfully decreased death from Hydrocephalus. This operation combines endoscopic third ventral colostomy called ETU which makes a new passageway for the fluid to escape the cavity of the brain, an endoscopes choroid plex vs cauterization called CPL which cauterizes the tissue that makes the fluid, thereby reducing its rate of production. Dr. Warf said this minimally invasive procedure avoids the need for shunts in most children appeared in the foreign press”.