The lumbar part of the spinal cords of two Manx kittens showed syringomyelia associated with spina bifida occulta. The syringomyelia may have been caused by a secondary mechanism, such as occlusion of blood vessels, that occurrcd after formation of the spinal cord. There was no apparent hyperplasia of neural tissue. Incomplete fusion of vertebral arches map also have been caused in part by such...

OBJECTIVE To analyse the prevalence of neural tube defects in small geographical areas and seek to explain any spatial variations with reference to environmental lead and deprivation. SETTING The Fylde of Lancashire in the north west of England. DESIGN Cases were ascertained as part of a prospective survey of major congenital malformations in babies born in the Fylde to residents there betw...

BACKGROUND The risk of recurrent neural-tube defects is decreased in women who take folic acid or multivitamins containing such during the periconceptional period. The extent to which folic acid supplementation can reduce the first occurrence of defects is not known. METHODS We conducted a randomized, controlled trial of periconceptional multivitamin supplementation to test the efficacy of th...

INTRODUCTION The prevalence of neural tube defects worldwide is 1 - 2 per 1000 neonates. Neural tube defects result from a disturbance of neurulation in the 3rd or 4th week of development and thus represent the earliest manifestation of organ malformation. Neural tube defects (NTD) are classified into cranial dysraphism leading to anencephaly or meningoencephalocele and spinal dysraphism with o...

DESCRIPTION A preterm (33 weeks) male neonate was born to a 34-year-old mother by caesarean section. The mother had a history of chronic hypertension, type 1 diabetes mellitus, stroke and asthma. Her medications included enoxaparin, insulin, nifedipine, methyldopa, inhaled albuterol and inhaled corticosteroids. She received regular prenatal care. The obstetric ultrasound done at 21 weeks of ges...

In order to study the genetic aspects of the relation between neural tube defects and sex, we selected families with at least two closely related affected members. The sex ratios of both affected and normal transmitting persons were determined in these multiple case families. Our results indicate that there is a relation between the position of the lesion in the spine and sex. Furthermore, the ...

Data are presented from the South Wales Congenital Malformation Survey (92,982 births 1964-6 inclusive) showing that within areas in South Wales there exists an inverse relation between previous spontaneous abortion rate and the prevalence at birth of neural tube defect (anencephaly or spina bifida cystica or both). This relation is independent of social class, parity, and maternal age, and is ...

BACKGROUND Although the embryonic expression pattern of ADP ribosylation factor-like 6 interacting protein 1 (Arl6ip1) has been reported, its function in neural crest development is unclear. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We found that knockdown of Arl6ip1 caused defective embryonic neural crest derivatives that were particularly severe in craniofacial cartilages. Expressions of the ectodermal pa...

Gastrointestinal (GI) hormones play an important role in GI secretion, motility, and eating behaviors. It was recently suggested that GI hormones may have a trophic role in GI tract. Here we demonstrate that two principal GI hormones, anorexigenic peptide YY (PYY) and orexigenic ghrelin, affect neural tube development. Chronic administration into the pregnant mice or transgenic overexpression o...