Preventing neural tube defects

Preventing neural tube defects in Europe: population based study.

Each year, more than 4500 pregnancies in the European Union are affected by neural tube defects. Unambiguous evidence of the effectiveness of periconceptional folic acid in preventing neural tube defects has been available since 1991, and improving folate status sufficiently could result in the prevention of more than two thirds of all neural tube defects. We report on trends in the prevalence ...

Preventing neural tube defects by folic acid fortification of flour.

A year-long prospective study conducted in the obstetrical service of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi for the year 2002, observed 9892 deliveries (312 still-born). Amongst these, there were 34 births with various NTDs of whom there were 16 live births. Anencephaly was the commonest of the neural abnormalities (19 cases with only 3 live births) followed by 11 myelomeningocoele...

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...