statistical data from 1966 till 1995 showed that neural tube defects, in the american continent, venezuela had the highest prevalence of 38.9 and some latin american countries showed the low of 7.7. in europe, norway had the highest prevalence of 68, and denmark the lowest, 5.8. in asia, india had the highest of 181.8 and japan the lowest of 10. in africa, nigeria had the highest of 70 and negr...

BACKGROUND A precise temporal and spatial regulation of gene expression is necessary to achieve neural tube closure. Med12, a subunit of the mediator complex, can bind transcription factors and modulate expression of their target genes. Med12 is essential during early mouse development and is important for neural tube closure. METHODS We have made use of a mouse line carrying a conditional nu...

Primary care practitioners are ideally situated to carry out health promotion activities. Neural tube defects are of a fairly low incidence, but the consequences are tragic. They range from life long physical and often intellectual disabilities, to death at birth. Increased folate intake, either through eating folate rich foods or through supplementation, has been shown to reduce the incidence ...

Evidence is presented to support the recent suggestion that human neural tube closure is similar to that observed in mice, and comprises several regionally distinct closure sites rather than being a simple zipping up process. Seven subjects, each with more than one neural tube defect (NTD), are described. Comparative studies of the location of the lesions in relation to the closed parts of the ...

BACKGROUND Neural tube defects are among the most common birth defects, contributing to miscarriage, infant mortality, severe congenital abnormalities and serious disabilities. It is burdensome to patients, caregivers, healthcare systems and society. It could be reduced if women consume a folic acid supplement before and during the early weeks of pregnancy. This study assesses folic acid usage ...

OBJECTIVE Our objective is to build a model that explains the association between the exposure to trace elements in the soil and the risk of neural tube defects. METHODS We built a function with different parameters to describe the effects of trace elements on neural tube defects. The association between neural tube defects and trace element levels was transformed into an optimization problem...

STUDY OBJECTIVE The aim was to study the relationship between birth prevalence of neural tube defect (including anencephaly) in Eastern Turkey before and after the Chernobyl disaster. DESIGN This was a prospective study of time trends in live births and stillbirths over the years 1985-1990. Medical and sociodemographic data were recorded for the mothers. SETTING Elazig, Eastern Turkey. SU...

BACKGROUND In the last two decades, India has witnessed a substantial decrease in infant mortality attributed to infectious disease and malnutrition. However, the mortality attributed to birth defects remains constant. Studies on the prevalence of birth defects such as neural tube defects and orofacial clefts in India have reported inconsistent results. Therefore, we conducted a systematic revi...

Background Pre-conceptional supplementation with folic acid is recognized as essential for the prevention of neural tube defects. However, the reproductive effects of folic acid may extend well beyond this well-recognized effect and may have an important role in improving fertility and survival of the conceptus and fetus. MaterialsAndMethods We evaluated the association between pre-conceptional...