tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91177928340648797692024-03-13T15:53:08.977-07:00Spina Bifida Newslindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-87625949622621894192014-01-02T11:06:00.000-08:002014-01-02T11:06:21.474-08:00Hydrocephalus: sensors monitor cerebral pressure<br />
If the pressure in a patient's brain is too high, physicians implant a
system in the head that regulates the pressure. A sensor can now
measure and individually adjust brain pressure. The sensor system is
approved for use as a long-term implant.<br />
<br />
Urinary incontinence, a shuffling gait, and
deteriorating reasoning skills are all indicators pointing to a
Parkinsonian or Alzheimer type disease. An equally plausible explanation
is hydrocephalus, commonly known as "water on the brain." With this
diagnosis, the brain produces either too much cerebral fluid, or it
cannot "drain off" these fluids with adequate sufficiency. The
consequence: Pressure in the brain rises sharply, resulting in damage. A
shunt system – a kind of silicon tube that physicians <a class="textTag" href="http://medicalxpress.com/tags/implant/" rel="tag">implant</a>
into the patient's brain, provides relief. It draws off superfluous
fluid from there, for example, into the abdominal cavity. The heart of
this shunt system is a valve: If the pressure increases above a
threshold value, then the valve opens; if it declines again, then the
valve closes.<br />
In rare cases, over-drainage may occur. The cerebral pressure lowers
too much, the cerebral ventricles are virtually squeezed out. Until now,
physicians could only detect and verify such over-drainage through
elaborate and costly computer and magnetic resonance tomography.<br />
<br />
<b>Cerebral pressure measurable anytime</b><br />
With a new kind of sensor, things are different: If it is implanted
into the patient's brain with the shunt system, the physicians could
read out brain pressure using a hand-held meter: within seconds, anytime
and without complex investigation. Researchers at the Fraunhofer
Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS in Duisburg,
working jointly with Christoph Miethke GmbH and Aesculap AG, engineered
these <a class="textTag" href="http://medicalxpress.com/tags/sensors/" rel="tag">sensors</a>.<br />
<br />
If the patient complains of discomfort, then the physician merely
needs to place the hand- held meter outside, on the patient's head. The
device sends magnetic radio waves and supplies the sensor in the shunt
with power- the implant is "awakened," measures tem- perature and
pressure in the cerebral fluid, and transmits these data back to the
handheld device. If the pressure on the outside of the desired area, the
physician can set the valve on the shunt system from the outside as
needed, and individually adjusted to the patient. "The sensor is an
active implant, which also takes over measurement functions, in contrast
to a stent or a tooth implant," says Michael Görtz, head of pressure
sensor technology at IMS.<br />
<br />
The implant must be biocompatible; the body cannot reject it.
Researchers had to ensure that the body also would not attack the
implant. "The defense response behaves just like an aggressive medium,
that would even dilute the silicon of the electronics over the course of
time," explains Görtz. Miethke therefore completely encases the implant
into a thin metal casing. "We can still supply it with power from the
outside through the metal casing, measure cerebral pressure through the
housing and transmit the recorded data outside, through the metal to the
reader," Görtz explains. To do so, the correct metal had to be found.
The coating may not be thicker than the walls of a soft drink can – in
other words, much thinner than one millimeter. The researchers even
developed the handheld reading device, together with the electronics,
through which it communicates with the sensor.<br />
<br />
The sensor is ready for serial production, and was already approved
by Miethke. The company has already initiated the market launch of the
system. "The sensor sets the basis for the further development through
to theranostic implants – a neologism derived from the words "therapy"
and "diagnostic." In a few years, the sensor could then not only record
cerebral pressure and develop a diagnosis on the basis of this, but also
properly adjust the pressure independently, immediately on its own and
thus, take over the therapy process," says Görtz.lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-81111734937425034062013-12-23T12:53:00.000-08:002013-12-23T12:53:25.453-08:00Can a Father's Diet Affect His Newborn's Health?Can a Father's Diet Affect His Newborn's Health?<br />
<div class="article-abstract">
Fathers, like mothers, might need to watch their folic acid levels. </div>
<div class="article-meta">
<span class="submitted">Published on December 15, 2013 by <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/experts/paul-raeburn" title="View Bio">Paul Raeburn</a> in <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/about-fathers">About Fathers</a></span></div>
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<a class="pt-basics-link" href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mating" title="Psychology Today looks at Mating "> </a>We've known for a long time that women who do not get enough folic acid in their diets from the very first weeks of <a class="pt-basics-link" href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/pregnancy" title="Psychology Today looks at Pregnancy">pregnancy</a> are at increased risk of having children with <a class="ext" href="http://m.cdc.gov/en/HealthSafetyTopics/LifeStagesPopulations/Pregnancy/QAfolicAcid" target="_blank">birth defects of the brain and spine, including spina bifida.</a><br />
<span class="ext"></span><br />
<br />
Now,
however, comes the surprising news that low folic acid levels in
fathers can also increase the risk. This isn't actually new; the link
has been known for a while. But it's been hard to understand how this
could work.<br />
Mothers provide the <a class="pt-basics-link" href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/environmental-psychology" title="Psychology Today looks at Environmental Psychology">environment</a>
for the developing fetus, including not only the roof over its head, so
to speak, but the complex bath of chemicals in which it swims during
pregnancy. It makes sense that altering that chemical soup—with a
deficiency of folic acid, for example—would have consequences for the
fetus. But the father's only direct connection with the fetus is a
single tiny sperm cell. How could his <a class="pt-basics-link" href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/diet" title="Psychology Today looks at Diet">diet</a> have anything to do with the fetus?<br />
</div>
<div id="inline-content-bottom-left">
<br /></div>
In <a class="ext" href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2013/131210/ncomms3889/full/ncomms3889.html" target="_blank">a new study </a><span class="ext"></span>in the journal<em> Nature Communications</em>,
researchers at McGill University in Montreal say they've found a
possible explanation. Diet can't alter the DNA in the sperm, but it can
alter something else, leaving a telltale signature that can disrupt
proceedings weeks later in the womb.<br />
<br />
A man's diet, it turns out, alters the <em>epigenetics</em> of his sperm. The <a class="pt-basics-link" href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/genetics" title="Psychology Today looks at Genetics">genes</a>
in the sperm carry all the hereditary characteristics that we're
familiar with—eye color, height, and so forth. But the proper operation
of those genes requires that they be turned on or off appropriately.
Epigenetic markings are small molecules that can attach to genes and
control whether or not they are turned on.<br />
<br />
The McGill researchers
now suggest that the link between fathers' folic acid levels and their
children's risk of birth defects might be a consequence of diet altering
these epigenetic markings in his sperm.<br />
<br />
Does this mean men
contemplating having children should take folic acid supplements?
There’s no way yet to know. Researchers must do more work to establish
with certainty what is going on, and at this point they have no way of
predicting how much folic acid is enough to reduce the risk—if, indeed,
further studies prove that the risk is real.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, the
study is yet one more examples of how important fathers are in the lives
of their children--often in ways, such as this, that no one could have
predicted. This one came out too late for inclusion in my book <em><a class="ext" href="http://www.amazon.com/Do-Fathers-Matter-Science-Overlooked/dp/0374141045/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387147755&sr=8-1&keywords=do+fathers+matter+what+science+is+telling+us+about+the+parent+we%27ve+overlooked" target="_blank">Do Fathers Matter? What Science is Telling Us About the Parent We’ve Overlooked</a><span class="ext"></span></em>,
(due out for Fathers Day, 2014), but you will see many similar studies
there, including a more complete explanation of epigenetics and its role
in many aspects of children’s health.<br />
<br />
This is perhaps one of the most exciting new areas of research regarding fathers, and I’m following it closely and will be <a class="pt-basics-link" href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/social-networking" title="Psychology Today looks at Social Networking">blogging</a> on it here in the weeks and months to come.<br />
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-6865282991082409702013-12-23T12:48:00.001-08:002013-12-23T12:53:40.024-08:00CDC report shows danger at Camp Lejeune<br />
<header class="byline">
The Virginian-Pilot<br />© <time datetime="2013-12-23" pubdate="">December 11, 2013</time></header><header class="byline"><time datetime="2013-12-23" pubdate=""> </time> </header> The
horror of Camp Lejeune, already one of the worst cases of drinking
water contamination in American history, continues to grow. So does the
shame of the U.S. Marine Corps.<br />
<br />
Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
confirmed a long-suspected link between toxic chemicals in drinking
water at the base and an increased risk of birth defects and childhood
cancer.<br />
The contamination stretches back decades, with exposure ending in
1987, when the Marine Corps closed the last of contaminated wells at the
base.<br />
<br />
Based on a survey of the parents of more than 12,000 children born at
Lejeune between 1968 and 1985, the CDC concluded that pregnant women
who drank tap water at the base were four times more likely to have
babies with serious birth defects such as spina bifida. The study also
found a slightly elevated risk for childhood cancers such as leukemia.<br />
<br />
The study is limited in its findings. Researchers told The Associated
Press that they were able to confirm only 52 cases of specific
illnesses related to chemical exposure at Lejeune based on medical
records. The cause can't be definitely shown for other birth defects and
cancer diagnoses.<br />
<br />
But the CDC study is the latest evidence of widespread health
problems linked to leaks from a fuel depot at the base and a dry cleaner
outside the base.<br />
<br />
Although some of the contaminants were addressed in federal
regulations dating to 1963, the Marine Corps repeatedly downplayed
health problems at Lejeune over the years and didn't take action until
1985.<br />
<br />
By that time, an estimated 1 million Marines and their families had been exposed.<br />
<br />
Last year, President Barack Obama signed legislation expanding health
care resources for those individuals. (Information on compensation
claims for Lejeune veterans and their families can be found at the
Department of Veterans Affairs website at <a href="http://goo.gl/D48rJS" title="http://goo.gl/D48rJS">http://goo.gl/D48rJS</a>.)<br />
<br />
The compensation covers 15 health problems, including multiple forms
of cancer. More than 80 men with connections to Lejeune have been
diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer.<br />
<br />
For the Marine Corps and the VA, the mission remains much as it was
before last week's news. They need to expedite claims and continue
reaching out to veterans and their families and to any civilians who may
have been exposed to carcinogens at the base.<br />
<br />
Research also should continue on the extent of contamination. Among
other things, the government needs to delve deeper into reports of
problems related to storage of DDT and other insecticides in a building
later used as a day care.<br />
<br />
The government also must explore further when the contamination
began. The legislation covers exposure beginning in 1957, but some
research indicates at least one carcinogen may have been present as
early as 1948.<br />
<br />
Last week's CDC report was difficult but welcome news for Lejeune
veterans and family members who've fought many years for answers.<br />
<br />
The Marine Corps, the VA, the president and Congress need to continue working to address those concerns.<br />
<br />
The loss of human life and the suffering cannot be reversed. But the
Marine Corps can ensure it doesn't leave behind the men and women whose
health was damaged at Lejeune.lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-53684492040389292222013-12-23T12:46:00.000-08:002013-12-23T12:53:54.532-08:00Birth Defects Linked To Contaminated Marine Base Water<div class="doc-header">
Birth Defects Linked To Contaminated Marine Base Water</div>
<div class="doc-header">
<br /></div>
<i>By Sara Jerome</i><br />
Contaminated water at a U.S. Marine Corps base in North Carolina may be
a cause of neural tube defects (NTDs) in some children, according to a
long-awaited study.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/update.html" target="_blank">study from the </a>Centers
for Disease Control found "associations between TCE and benzene in Camp
Lejeune drinking water and NTDs," the report said.<br />
<br />
Survey participants reported "35 NTDs, 42 oral clefts, and 29 childhood
hematopoietic cancers," the study said. CDC "made extensive efforts to
obtain medical information from health providers to confirm reported
cases. ATSDR was able to confirm 15 NTDs, 24 oral clefts, and 13
cancers."<br />
<br />
The effects were observed "in children born from 1968 to 1985 whose
mothers were exposed to contaminated drinking water in their residences
at Camp Lejeune."<br />
<br />
The study also observed "weaker associations" between "first trimester
exposure to PCE, vinyl chloride, and 1,2- DCE," and childhood
hematopoietic cancers such as leukemia.<br />
<br />
According <a href="http://www.wral.com/cdc-water-at-marine-base-linked-to-birth-defects/13188866/" target="_blank">to the Associated Press</a>,
"a prior CDC study cited a February 1985 level for trichloroethylene of
18,900 parts per billion in one Lejeune drinking water well — nearly
4,000 times today's maximum allowed health limit of 5 ppb. Testing also
found high levels of benzene, a fuel additive."<br />
<br />
The contamination was caused by "a leaky on-base fuel depot and an off-base dry cleaner," the report said.<br />
In the nearly 30 years since the contamination was first publicly
disclosed, "military officials have repeatedly issued public statements
downplaying health risks from drinking the tainted water prior to the
closure of the most contaminated wells," the AP said.<br />
<br />
The base kept using the wells for years even after tainted water was
discovered, the AP reported. "The most highly contaminated wells were
closed in 1984 and 1985, after a round of more extensive testing found
dangerous concentrations of toxins associated with degreasing solvents
and gasoline."<br />
<br />
Lejeune spokeswoman Captain Maureen Krebs <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/12/07/us-usa-pollution-camplejeune-idINBRE9B600Q20131207" target="_blank">said in a statement published by Reuters</a> that the Marine Corps has supported attempts to study the effects of the tainted water.<br />
<br />
"These results provide additional information in support of ongoing
efforts to provide comprehensive science-based answers to the health
questions that have been raised," she said.<br />
<br />
A law passed last year attempted to help those affected by the water.
The law provides "medical care to former Marines and their dependents
who were exposed to the contaminated wells between 1957 and 1987. The
law covers 15 conditions including miscarriage, female infertility,
leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and several other forms of cancer," an <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20131207/ARTICLES/131209780?p=2&tc=pg" target="_blank">editorial</a> in <i>Star News Online</i> said. <br />
<div class="doc-header">
<br /></div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-45050057428805515622013-12-23T12:44:00.000-08:002013-12-23T12:44:46.550-08:00People With Spinal Cord Injuries Prone To Premature Death: WHO Report <div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
People With Spinal Cord Injuries Prone To Premature Death: WHO Report </div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
<br /></div>
<div id="ctl00_CPI_dvEnteredDate">
<span class="Ent-Date">12/3/2013 6:13 AM ET </span></div>
<div id="ctl00_CPI_dvEnteredDate">
<span class="Ent-Date"> </span></div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
People with spinal cord injuries are two to five times more likely to
die prematurely, with worse survival rates in low- and middle-income
countries, says a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO).</div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
As many as 500,000 people suffer a spinal cord injury each year, it is estimated. </div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
<br /></div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
The
report, titled "International perspectives on spinal cord injury,"
summarizes the best available evidence on the causes, prevention, care
and lived experience of people with spinal cord injury.</div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
<br /></div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
The
report was developed in association with the International Spinal Cord
Society and Swiss Paraplegic Research, and launched on the occasion of
the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which falls on
December 3.</div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
<br /></div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
Males are most
at risk of spinal cord injury between the ages of 20-29 years and 70
years and older, while females are most at risk between the ages of
15-19 years and 60 years and older. Studies report male to female ratios
of at least 2:1 among adults.</div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
<br /></div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
Up to 90 percent of spinal cord
injury cases are due to traumatic causes such as road traffic crashes,
falls and violence. Variations exist across regions. For example, road
accidents are the main contributor to spinal cord injury in the African
Region (nearly 70 percent of cases) and the Western Pacific Region (55
percent of cases) and falls the leading cause in the South-East Asia and
Eastern Mediterranean Regions (40 percent of cases). Non-traumatic
spinal cord injury results from conditions such as tumors, spina bifida,
and tuberculosis. A third of non-traumatic spinal cord injury is linked
to tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa.</div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
<br /></div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
Most
people with spinal cord injury experience chronic pain, and an
estimated 20-30 percent show clinically significant signs of depression.
People with spinal cord injury also risk developing secondary
conditions that can be debilitating and even life-threatening, such as
deep vein thrombosis, urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers and
respiratory complications.</div>
<table><tbody>
<tr><td align="leflt"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
Spinal
cord injury is associated with lower rates of school enrollment and
economic participation. Children with spinal cord injury are less likely
than their peers to start school, and once enrolled, less likely to
advance. Adults with spinal cord injury face similar barriers to
socio-economic participation, with a global unemployment rate of more
than 60 percent. Spinal cord injury carries substantial individual and
societal costs.</div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
<br /></div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
Many of the
consequences associated with spinal cord injury do not result from the
condition itself, but from inadequate medical care and rehabilitation
services, and from barriers in the physical, social and policy
environments that exclude people with spinal cord injury from
participation in their communities. Full Implementation of the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is urgently
required to address these gaps and barriers.</div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
<br /></div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
"Spinal
cord injury is a medically complex and life-disrupting condition,"
notes Dr. Etienne Krug, Director of WHO's Department of Violence and
Injury Prevention and Disability. "However, spinal cord injury is
preventable, survivable, and need not preclude good <span class="landLinks">health</span> and social inclusion," according to him.</div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
Essential
measures for improving the survival, health and participation of people
with spinal cord injury are detailed in the report. </div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
<br /></div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
by RTT Staff Writer</div>
<div class="spx_inspected_extr spx_global">
<br /></div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-40952728195940282882013-08-13T09:06:00.002-07:002013-08-13T09:06:41.456-07:00Bone Marrow Cells Used in Bladder Regeneration2/18/2013<br />
<br />
A new approach to bladder regeneration is capitalizing on
the potential of two distinct cell populations harvested from a
patient's healthy bone marrow, a new study reports.
<br />
<div id="seealso">
<hr />
</div>
<div id="text">
The Northwestern Medicine® research, which will be published February 18 in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em>
by lead author Arun K. Sharma, research assistant professor in urology
at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and colleagues,
is an alternative to contemporary tissue-engineering strategies. The
bone marrow cells are being used to recreate the organ's smooth muscle,
vasculature, and nerve tissue.<br />
<br />
"We are manipulating a person's own disease-free cells for bladder
tissue reformation," said Sharma, a member of the Institute for
BioNanotechnology in Medicine and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie
Children's Hospital of Chicago Research Center. "We have used the spina
bifida patient population as a proof of concept model because those
patients typically have bladder dysfunction. However, this regeneration
approach could be used for people suffering from a variety of bladder
issues where the bone marrow microenvironment is deemed normal."<br />
<br />
In end-stage neurogenic bladder disease -- an illness often
associated with spinal cord diseases like spina bifida -- the nerves
which carry messages between the bladder and the brain do not work
properly, causing an inability to pass urine. The most common surgical
option, augmentation cystoplasty, involves placing a "patch" derived
from an individual's bowel over a part of the diseased organ in order to
increase its size. The current "gold standard," the procedure remains
problematic because the bowel tissue introduces long-term complications
like the development of electrolyte imbalance and bladder cancer.<br />
<br />
Because Sharma's procedure does not use bowel tissue, it offers the
benefits of augmentation without the association of long-term risks. His
technique combines stem and progenitor cells from a patient's bone
marrow with a synthetic scaffold created in the lab of Guillermo Ameer,
ScD, professor of biomedical engineering at McCormick School of
Engineering and Applied Science and of surgery at Feinberg. The scaffold
takes the place of the traditional patch.<br />
<br />
"We decided to use material that has the ability to be tailored to
simulate mechanical properties of the bladder," said Sharma, director of
pediatric urological regenerative medicine at Lurie Children's. "Using
the elastomer created by Dr. Ameer and the bone marrow stem and
progenitor cells, I believe that we have developed a technique that can
potentially be used in lieu of current bladder augmentation procedures.
However, further study is needed."<br />
</div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-778487586071562882013-08-13T08:50:00.001-07:002013-08-13T08:50:41.561-07:00Follow-up to landmark spina bifida study could influence future treatment1/30/2013<br />
<br />
<div class="article_abstract">
HOUSTON — Almost 10 years ago, the Management of Myelomeningocele (MOMS) study began comparing two approaches to treatment for a serious form of spina bifida: prenatal surgery versus the standard postnatal <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD1">repair</span>.</div>
<div class="article_abstract">
<br /></div>
This breakthrough study, funded by the <em>Eunice Kennedy Shriver</em> National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1014379" target="_blank">published by the <em>New England Journal of Medicine</em></a> in 2011, found that children whose spina bifida defects were repaired surgically before birth were more likely to <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD5">walk</span> without the assistance of <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD6">orthotics</span> or devices. NICHD is one of the Institutes of the National Institutes of Health.<br />
<br />
Now, a follow-up study, also funded by NICHD and informally known as MOMS2, is being conducted to determine whether prenatal repair done in the original study influenced the adaptive behavior of these children, now 5 to 9 years of age, compared with those who underwent postnatal repair.<br />
<br />
One of the effects in question is the brain development of these
children. Jenifer Juranek, Ph.D., a neuroimaging expert with the Texas
Fetal Center and the <a href="http://www.childrenslearninginstitute.org/default.aspx">Children’s Learning Institute</a> at The <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD4">University</span>
of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), is performing
high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain sequences on 177
of the children from the original study to investigate if those who
underwent prenatal surgery experienced greater structural modification
in their brains than those infants who underwent postnatal surgery.<br />
<br />
The follow-up brain imaging protocol was set up by Juranek at each of the three original MOMS study sites: Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and the University
of California at San Francisco. Each follow-up image will be analyzed
and quantified by Juranek for such key development indicators as brain
volume, matter integrity, synaptic <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD3">pruning</span>
(i.e., when excess connections between cells are eliminated) and
myelination, which enables nerve cells to transmit information faster
and allows for more complex brain processes.<br />
<br />
“Researchers have demonstrated that many neurodevelopmental
disorders like spina bifida may be linked to poorly-timed cellular
events during brain development. These events lead to specific
structural and functional brain development,” said Juranek. “With this
follow-up study, researchers can evaluate the impact different intervention <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD12">strategies</span> have on brain structure, function and behavior.”<br />
<br />
The results of the MOMS2 study could influence future surgical
procedures for babies diagnosed with myelomeningocele, says KuoJen
Tsao, M.D., associate professor of pediatric surgery at UTHealth
Medical <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD7">School</span> and a co-director of the Texas Fetal Center.<br />
<br />
“The MOMS study gave us data that goes two or three years out from
surgery, but we know there is a lot of development beyond that,” said
Tsao. “We know there are certain short-term outcomes, but there may be
some long-term neurological effects we don’t know about. What’s most
exciting about the MOMS2 study is they are going to follow these patients at school age.”<br />
<br />
One common risk associated with myelomeningocele is the buildup of
fluid inside the skull that leads to brain swelling. This swelling is
repaired with shunts inserted into the brain to relieve pressure. The
original MOMS study found that prenatal surgery reduced the need for shunts, which may improve long-term brain development.<br />
<br />
“Once you put in a shunt you have risks,” said Juranek. “Getting
into the center of brain isn’t easy. If you put in a shunt, you are
likely to cut through gray and white matter, both of which are
responsible for certain brain functions.”<br />
<br />
Tsao added, “The important thing about the MOMS2 study is it will answer questions that we are asking now. That’s where Dr. Juranek’s work is very important.”<br />
<br />
Other follow-up testing will look at other development factors such
as attention, executive function and fine and gross motor skills.lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-74904675372802596342013-08-13T08:47:00.003-07:002013-08-13T08:48:30.740-07:00Air pollutants linked to higher risk of birth defects, researchers find<br />
<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<img alt="David Miklos" border="0" class="right_image" height="217" src="http://med.stanford.edu/ism/images/featureStories/shaw-gary-150.jpg" width="150" /></div>
<br />
3/28/2013<br />
<br />
<div class="article_abstract">
BY ERIN DIGITALE - Breathing traffic pollution in early <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD5">pregnancy</span> is linked to a higher risk for certain serious birth defects, according to new research from the Stanford <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD2">University</span> <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD10">School</span> of Medicine.</div>
The finding comes from a <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD7">study</span>
examining air quality and birth-defect data for women living in
California’s San Joaquin Valley, one of the smoggiest regions of
the country. “We found an association between specific
traffic-related air pollutants and neural tube defects, which are
malformations of the brain and spine,” said the study’s lead author, <a href="http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Amy_Padula/">Amy Padula</a>, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in pediatrics. The research appears online today in the <i>American Journal of Epidemiology</i>.<br />
<br />
“Birth defects affect one in every 33 babies, and about two-thirds
of these defects are due to unknown causes,” said the paper’s
senior author, <a href="http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Gary_Shaw/">Gary Shaw</a>,
PhD, professor of neonatal and developmental medicine. “When
these babies are born, they bring into a family’s life an amazing
number of questions, many of which we can’t answer.”<br />
<br />
The scientists studied 806 women who had a pregnancy
affected by a birth defect between 1997 and 2006, and 849 women
who had healthy babies during the same period. The study examined
two types of neural tube defects (spina bifida, a spinal-column
malformation, and anencephaly, an underdeveloped or absent
brain); cleft lip, with or without cleft palate; cleft palate
only; and gastroschisis, in which the infant is born with some of
his or her intestines outside the body.<br />
<br />
All women studied resided in an area of <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD11">California</span> known for poor air quality — the San Joaquin Valley — during the first eight weeks of their <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD6">pregnancies</span>, a <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD3">window</span>
of time when many birth defects develop. The researchers asked
each woman for her home address during this period and scored
subjects’ exposure to air pollutants using data collected by the
Environmental Protection Agency as part of federally mandated
air-quality monitoring. The pollutants assessed included carbon
monoxide, nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter
and ozone, as well as local traffic density.<br />
<br />
After controlling for factors such as race/ethnicity, maternal <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD4">education</span>
and multivitamin use, women who breathed the highest levels of
carbon monoxide were nearly twice as likely to have a baby with
spina bifida or anencephaly as those with the lowest carbon
monoxide exposure, the study found. Nitrogen oxide and nitrogen
dioxide exposures were also linked to increased risk for these
defects; women with the highest nitrogen oxide exposure had
nearly three times the risk of having a pregnancy affected by anencephaly than those with the lowest exposure, for example. Further <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD8">studies</span> are needed to examine the combined effects of multiple pollutants.<br />
<br />
The quality of earlier research linking air pollution and birth
defects has been hampered by the difficulty of getting reliable
data on women’s exposure to pollutants. The new study is the first to assess women’s pollutant exposures in early pregnancy, when birth defects are developing, rather than at birth.<br />
<br />
Further studies
are needed to confirm the results of the new research and to
examine other pollutants, as well as other types of birth
defects, the researchers said.<br />
<br />
“If these associations are
confirmed, this work offers an avenue for a potential
intervention for reducing birth defects,” Padula said.<br />
<br />
“In addition, for our colleagues who are bench scientists, this
work gives them an opportunity to think about what pollution
exposures might mean mechanistically,” Shaw said. “It could give
them a better understanding of the details of human development.”<br />
<a href="http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Suzan_Carmichael/"><br /> Suzan Carmichael</a>,
PhD, associate professor of neonatal and developmental medicine,
was another Stanford co-author. Scientists at the <a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/index.html">University of California-Berkeley</a> and at <a href="http://www.sonomatech.com/">Sonoma Technology Inc</a>. in Sonoma, Calif., were also involved in the work.<br />
<br />
The study was funded by <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD12">grants</span> from the<a href="http://www.niehs.nih.gov/"> National Institute for Environmental Health Science</a> (grant ES018173), the <a href="http://www.epa.gov/">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a> and the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>.<br />
<br />
Information about Stanford’s Department of Pediatrics, which also supported the work, is available at <a href="http://pediatrics.stanford.edu/">http://pediatrics.stanford.edu</a>.<br />
<div class="releaseFooter">
Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions - <a href="http://med.stanford.edu/">Stanford University School of Medicine</a>, <a href="http://www.stanfordhospital.com/">Stanford Hospital & Clinics</a> and <a href="http://www.lpch.org/">Lucile Packard Children's Hospital</a>. For more information, please visit the Office of Communication & Public Affairs site at <a href="http://mednews.stanford.edu/">http://mednews.stanford.edu/</a>.</div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-90083809214163050742013-08-13T07:59:00.003-07:002013-08-13T07:59:57.990-07:00Prescriptions for valproate not decreasing despite birth defect-causing concerns7/24/2013<br />
<br />
<div class="article_abstract">
A recent <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD5">study</span> <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD3">shows</span>
that prescriptions for the antiepileptic drug valproate have not
decreased in recent years even though the drug is known to cause severe
birth defects and brain damage.</div>
A new study indicates that <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD10">women</span> without epilepsy are four times as likely to be prescribed this drug as are women with epilepsy.<br />
<br />
Led by Godfrey P. Oakley, Jr. MD, research professor at Emory's
Rollins School of Public Health, a research team analyzed data from the
National Hospital and Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys from 1996 to 2007
to examine valproate prescriptions for adolescent girls and adult women aged 14-45 years. Findings from the study concluded that 83 percent of valproate prescriptions were written for women
without epilepsy, with 74 percent of those prescribed for psychiatric,
non-epilepsy diagnoses and the remaining valproate prescriptions used
for conditions such as pain, migraine and other non-epilepsy conditions.<br />
<br />
"We were surprised to find that there was no decrease in the number of valproate prescriptions prescribed to women
of reproductive-age despite the numerous, less harmful antiepileptic
drugs available and the proven evidence of valproate's harmful effects
during <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD2">pregnancy</span>," says Oakley who is also the director of Emory's Center for Spina Bifida Research, Prevention, and Policy.<br />
The complete study is published in the June 3, 2013 edition of the <em>Birth Defects Research Part A—Clinical and Molecular Teratology</em> journal.<br />
<br />
"We believe that sharply reducing the use of valproate for reproductive-age women is an important step in preventing birth defects," explains Oakley.lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-3920313751845597662013-08-13T07:58:00.001-07:002013-08-13T07:58:22.520-07:00Genes Involved in Birth Defects May Also Lead to Mental Illness6/25/2013<br />
<br />
<div class="article_abstract">
Gene mutations that lead to major birth
defects may also cause subtle disruptions in the brain that contribute
to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, and bipolar
disorder, according to new research by UC San Francisco scientists.</div>
<div class="article_abstract">
<br /></div>
By <a href="http://www.ucsf.edu/bio/jeffrey-norris">Jeffrey Norris</a> <br />
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary">
<div class="field-item even">
<br />
Over the past several years, researchers in the <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD6">laboratory</span> of psychiatrist <a href="http://profiles.ucsf.edu/ben.cheyette">Benjamin Cheyette</a>,
MD, PhD, have shown that mutations in a gene called Dact1 cause cell
signaling networks to go awry during embryonic development. Researchers
observed that mice with Dact1 mutations were born with a range of severe
malformations, including some reminiscent of <b>spina bifida</b> in humans.<br />
This new study was designed to explore whether Dact1 mutations exert
more nuanced effects in the brain that may lead to mental illness. In
doing so, Cheyette, <a href="http://profiles.ucsf.edu/john.rubenstein">John Rubenstein</a>, MD, PhD, and colleagues in UCSF’s Nina Ireland Laboratory
of Developmental Neurobiology used a genetic technique in adult mice to
selectively delete the Dact1 protein only in interneurons, a group of
brain cells that regulates activity in the cerebral cortex, including
cognitive and sensory processes. Poor function of interneurons has been
implicated in a range of psychiatric conditions.<br />
<div class="ckimagebox" style="float: right; width: auto;">
<img alt="" border="0" class="image-400w" height="178" src="http://www.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/styles/400w/public/fields/field_insert_file/news/interneurons.jpg?itok=HxVJP9ZC" width="353" /><br />
Brain cells called interneurons, which regulate activity in the cerebral cortex, were<br />
shown by UCSF researchers to form more complex branching patterns in normal<br />
mice (left) in <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD7">comparison</span> to mice in which the gene encoding the protein Dact1<br />
was knocked out (right).<br />
</div>
As reported in the June 24 online issue of <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0067679"><em>PLOS ONE</em></a>, researchers found that the genetically altered interneurons appeared relatively normal and had managed to find their proper <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD12">position</span>
in the brain’s circuitry during development. But the cells had
significantly fewer synapses, the sites where communication with
neighboring neurons takes place. In additional observations not included
in the new paper, the team also noted that the cells’ dendrites – fine
extensions that normally form bushy arbors studded with synapses – were
poorly developed and sparsely branched.<br />
<br />
“When you delete this gene function after initial, early development –
just eliminating it in neurons after they’ve formed – they migrate to
the right place and their numbers are correct, but their morphology is a
little off,” Cheyette said. “And that’s very much in line with the
kinds of pathology that people have been able to identify in psychiatric
illness.<br />
<br />
"Neurological illnesses tend to be focal, with lesions that you can
identify or pathology you can see on an imaging study," Cheyette
explained. "Psychiatric illnesses? Not so much. The differences are
really subtle and hard to see.”<br />
<h2>
Key Gene's Role in Development of Human Nervous System</h2>
The Dact1 protein is part of a fundamental biological system known as
the Wnt (pronounced “wint”) signaling pathway. Interactions among
proteins in the Wnt pathway orchestrate many processes essential to life
in animals as diverse as fruit flies, mice and humans, including the
proper development of the immensely complex human nervous system from a <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD9">single</span> fertilized egg cell.<br />
<div class="ckimagebox" style="float: left; width: auto;">
<img alt="" border="0" height="178" src="http://www.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/fields/field_insert_file/news/Cheyette.jpg" width="131" /><br />
Benjamin Cheyette, MD, PhD<br />
</div>
One way the Wnt pathway manages this task is by maintaining the
“polarity” of cells during development, said Cheyette, “a process of
sequestering, increasing the concentration of one set of proteins on one
side of the cell and a different set of proteins on the other side of
the cell.” Polarity is particularly important as precursor cells
transform into nerve cells, Cheyette said, because neurons are “the most
polarized cells in the body,” with specialized input and output zones
that must wind up in the proper spots if the cells are to function
normally.<br />
Cheyette said his group is now conducting behavioral experiments with the mice analyzed in the new <em>PLOS ONE</em>
paper and with genetically related mouse lines to test whether these
mice have behavioral abnormalities in sociability, sensory perception,
anxiety or motivation that resemble <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD3">symptoms</span> in major psychiatric disorders.<br />
<div class="ckimagebox" style="float: right; width: auto;">
<img alt="" border="0" height="163" src="http://www.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/fields/field_insert_file/news/john_rubenstein_0.jpg" width="130" /><br />
John Rubenstein, MD, PhD<br />
</div>
He also hopes to collaborate with UCSF colleagues on follow-up
experiments to determine whether the activity of neurons lacking Dact1
is impaired in addition to the structural flaws identified in the new
study and prior published work from his lab.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, as-yet-unpublished findings from human genetics research
conducted by Cheyette’s group suggest that individuals with autism are
significantly more likely than healthy comparison subjects to carry mutations in a Wnt pathway gene called WNT1.<br />
<br />
“Just because a gene plays an important role in the embryo doesn’t
mean it isn’t also important in the brain later, and might be involved
in psychiatric pathology,” said Cheyette. “When these genes are mutated,
someone may look fine, develop fine and have no obvious <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD4">medical problems</span> at birth, but they may also develop autism in childhood or have a psychotic break in adulthood and develop schizophrenia.”<br />
<br />
Rubenstein is the Nina Ireland Distinguished Professor in Child Psychiatry.<br />
Additional study authors include postdoctoral scholars <a href="http://profiles.ucsf.edu/xiaoyong.yang">Xiaoyong Yang</a>, PhD, <a href="http://profiles.ucsf.edu/daniel.vogt">Daniel Vogt</a>, PhD, and <a href="http://profiles.ucsf.edu/amelia.stanco">Amelia Stanco</a>,
PhD, and graduate student and first author Annie Arguello. Yang and
Stanco are supported by a postdoctoral training grant (T32) led by <a href="http://profiles.ucsf.edu/judith.ford">Judy Ford</a>, PhD, to the UCSF Department of Psychiatry from the National Institute of Mental Health.<br />
<br />
Arguello conducted this research while obtaining her PhD in the UCSF
doctoral program in Biomedical Sciences (BMS), and was supported by the
Initiative to Maximize Student Development Program of the National
Institute of General Medicine, as well as by BMS, the UCSF Department of
Psychiatry, and the Center for Neurobiology and Psychiatry led by Sam
Barondes, MD, Jeanne and Sanford Robertson Endowed Chair in Neurobiology
and Psychiatry.<br />
</div>
</div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-92101064411482720382013-08-13T07:53:00.000-07:002013-08-13T07:55:53.517-07:00New treatment may work with folic acid to prevent neural tube defects like spina bifida<div class="article_abstract">
8/12/13<br />
<br />
Researchers at the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH) are investigating a new treatment that could work alongside folic acid to boost its effectiveness and prevent a greater proportion of neural tube defects – such as spina bifida – in <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD3">early pregnancy</span>.</div>
<div class="article_abstract">
<br /></div>
A new <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD12">study</span> published in the journal <i>Brain </i><span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD7">shows</span> that the new treatment,
when tested in mice, reduced the incidence of neural tube defects
(NTDs) by 85 per cent. This new approach was also successful in
preventing some kinds of NTDs that are currently unresponsive to folic acid. <br />
Researchers at the ICH, which is the research partner of Great Ormond
Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, believe the findings
could make way for future trials in patients, to investigate whether
the same level of prevention can be achieved for human NTDs. <br />
NTDs such as spina bifida and anencephaly are still among the most
common birth defects worldwide, affecting about 1 in 1,000 pregnancies
with much higher rates in some countries. <br />
Folic acid supplements taken in the very early stages of human
pregnancy, when an embryo’s central nervous system is still developing,
currently prevent a proportion of NTDs (20-80 per cent depending on
geographic region). Folic acid works by helping the embryo’s neural tube
to close normally, which is an essential step of development (failure
of this process <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD2">results</span> in NTDs). However, a significant number of NTDs are unresponsive to folic acid supplements. <br />
<div class="quotation">
<blockquote>
This nucleotide treatment could boost the effects of folic acid and offer expectant mothers an even more reliable safeguard against relatively common defects like spina bifida.</blockquote>
Professor Nicholas Green, Institute of Child Health </div>
One reason why folic acid might not always be effective is that a ‘genetic blockage’ can occur in the way folic acid is handled, or metabolised, in cells. In such cases, even if folic acid is taken early in pregnancy it is blocked from having the desired effect on the embryo. The new treatment
being tested at the ICH involves supplementing with ‘nucleotides’,
which are needed to make DNA as cells divide in the growing embryo.
Nucleotides can bypass the blockage in the way folic acid is handled, ensuring the growth of crucial cells in the embryo.<br />
<br />
NTDs are likely to have many possible causes and the ICH team
considers that the most effective way to reduce the risk of NTDs is to
use a <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD11">combination</span> of different <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD9">treatments</span>.
In previous studies they found that a particular vitamin, inositol, has
a protective effect and this is being tested in a clinical trial.<br />
<br />
Similar studies are now proposed for the ‘nucleotide’ treatment, and researchers envisage that a single tablet could eventually be developed for women planning a baby, which would contain folic acid and the new protective compounds.<br />
<br />
Commenting on the new research, Nicholas Greene, Professor of
Developmental Neurobiology at the ICH, said: “We are still in the early
stages of this research, but we hope that these promising results in mice can eventually be replicated with human NTDs. If it is found to be effective, this nucleotide treatment could boost the effects of folic acid and offer expectant mothers an even more reliable safeguard against relatively common defects like spina bifida.”<br />
<br />
Professor Greene added: “While we <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD10">continue</span> our research into this new treatment, it’s important to emphasise that folic acid
supplements remain the most effective prevention against NTDs currently
available for women who are planning a baby. While we are greatly
encouraged by these new findings, I would strongly urge women to continue taking folic acid in its current form until we reach a point where additional supplements might become available.”<br />
<br />
The new research has been funded by the Wellcome Trust, Medical
Research Council and Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children, who also
co-sponsored the establishment of the Newlife Birth Defects Research
Centre at the UCL Institute of Child Health. lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-63825043949884162432013-07-22T10:47:00.002-07:002013-07-22T10:47:42.613-07:00NKX2-8 Gene Mutation Linked To Spina Bifida<h1 class="print-title">
NKX2-8 Gene Mutation Linked To Spina Bifida</h1>
<div class="print-submitted">
By <em>News Staff</em></div>
<div class="print-created">
Created <em>Jul 20 2013 - 1:00pm</em></div>
<br />
Neural tube defects affect more
than 300,000 babies born around the world each year, according to the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Neural tube defects,
including anencephaly and spina bifida, are caused by the incomplete
closure or development of the spine and skull.<br /><br />
Using dogs as a model, researchers recently found that a gene related to
neural tube defects in man's best friend may be an important risk
factor for human neural tube defects. The cause of neural tube defects
is poorly understood but has long been thought to be associated with
genetic, nutritional and environmental factors.<br />
<br />
Dogs provide an excellent biomedical model because they receive
medical care comparable to what humans receive, share in a home
environment and develop naturally occurring diseases that are similar to
those found in humans. More specifically, several conditions associated
with neural-tube defects are known to occur naturally in dogs. The DNA
samples used in the study were taken from household pets, rather than
laboratory animals.<br />
<br />
The researchers carried out genome mapping in four Weimaraner dogs
affected by spinal dysraphism, a naturally occurring spinal-cord
disorder, and in 96 such dogs that had no neural tube defects. Spinal
dysraphism, previously reported in the Weimaraner breed, causes symptoms
that include impaired motor coordination or partial paralysis in the
legs, abnormal gait, a crouched stance and abnormal leg or paw reflexes.<br />
<br />
Analysis of a specific region on canine chromosome eight led the
researchers to a mutation in a gene called NKX2-8, one of a group of
genes known as "homeobox genes," known to be involved with regulating
patterns of anatomical development in the embryo.<br />
<br />
The researchers determined that the NKX2-8 mutation occurred in the
Weimaraner breed with a frequency of 1.4 percent — 14 mutations in every
1,000 dogs.<br />
<br />
Additionally, they tested nearly 500 other dogs from six different
breeds that had been reported to be clinically affected by neural tube
defects, but did not find copies of the NKX2-8 gene mutation among the
non-Weimaraner dogs.<br />
<br />
"The data indicate that this mutation does not appear as a benign
mutation in some breeds, while causing defects in other breeds," said
Noa Safra, lead author on the study and a postdoctoral fellow in the
laboratory of Professor Danika Bannasch in the UC Davis School of
Veterinary Medicine. "Our results suggest that the NKX2-8 mutation is a
'private' mutation in Weimaraners that is not shared with other breeds."<br />
<br />
<br />
The researchers say that identification of such a breed-specific gene
may help veterinarians diagnose spinal dysraphism in dogs and enable
Weimaraner breeders to use DNA screening to select against the mutation
when developing their breeding plans.<br />
<br />
In an effort to investigate a potential role for the NKX2-8 mutation
in cases of neural tube defects in people, the researchers also
sequenced 149 unrelated samples from human patients with spina bifida.
They found six cases in which the patients carried mutations of the
NKX2-8 gene but stress that further studies are needed to confirm
whether these mutations are responsible for the diagnosed neural tube
defects.<br />
<br />
Citation: Noa Safra, Alexander G. Bassuk, Polly J. Ferguson, Miriam
Aguilar, Rochelle L. Coulson, Nicholas Thomas, Peta L. Hitchens, Peter
J. Dickinson, Karen M. Vernau, Zena T. Wolf, Danika L. Bannasch,
'Genome-Wide Association Mapping in Dogs Enables Identification of the
Homeobox Gene, NKX2-8, as a Genetic Component of Neural Tube Defects in
Humans', PLoS Genet 9(7): e1003646. <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1003646" target="_blank">doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1003646</a>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-86558725589172312752013-01-23T09:37:00.004-08:002013-01-23T09:37:58.511-08:00Pennridge powerlifting team muscles its way into the record books<h1 class="story_headline" style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Pennridge powerlifting team muscles its way into the record books</span></h1>
<h1 class="story_headline" style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sunday, January 06, 2013</span></h1>
<div class="byline">
By Meghan Ross<br /><a href="mailto:mross@montgomerynews.com">mross@montgomerynews.com</a></div>
<br />
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<br />
Coach Steve Pattison, or “CP” for short, recruits Pennridge
students for his powerlifting team by walking up to them in the school
hallway and asking, “Hi, how are you? How much do you weigh?”<br /><br />Unmoved
by the brazen question, about 35 students and parents have joined CP in
his gym in Perkasie for intense one- to two-hour lifting sessions four
times a week. And whatever he’s doing, it’s working because the
Pennridge powerlifting team has beaten not just school, state and
regional records, but 26 world records. Going up against about 40 other
countries, the team beat others and its own past world records in bench,
squat, dead-lift and total — the best of all three — at the world
championships in Las Vegas in 2012.<br /><br />“Coming from a town like Perkasie, what these guys have accomplished really is unheard of,” CP said. “It’s just not done.”<br /><br />The
team is on its own for finances, which can add up to large amounts
quickly. This year the team had to pay its way to Las Vegas, and two
years ago team members paid their way to the Czech Republic.<br />
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<br />
Though the team does have some tall,
brawny characters, the majority of them look like normal Pennridge
students until they flex.<br /><br />“It’s not necessarily a body builder
strength,” CP said. “Your body does get bigger, harder, firmer but it’s
more power. That’s what it’s all about.”<br /><br />Danielle Tasher, a
Pennridge student who weighs 97 pounds, can dead-lift 230 pounds, but no
one would guess it with her petite frame.<br /><br />Johnny Hess, a
92-pound member of the team with bright blue eyes, broad shoulders and a
constant smile, can bench 135 pounds. What makes Hess even more
impressive is that the 16-year-old sophomore can bench that much while
paralyzed from the waist down, a result of spina bifida, a birth defect.<br /><br />CP said usually your legs are your base of everything, your drive for power.<br />
<br />
See full story here:<br />
<a href="http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2013/01/06/perkasie_news_herald/news/doc50e51c691f1b6612496231.txt?viewmode=fullstory" target="_blank">http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2013/01/06/perkasie_news_herald/news/doc50e51c691f1b6612496231.txt?viewmode=fullstory </a><br />
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lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-406691595644468422013-01-23T09:33:00.001-08:002013-01-23T09:33:42.396-08:00Lack of Key Enzyme in the Metabolism of Folic Acid Leads to Birth Defects<h1 class="story" id="headline">
<span style="font-size: small;">Lack of Key Enzyme in the Metabolism of Folic Acid Leads to Birth Defects</span></h1>
<div id="first">
<span class="date">Jan. 17, 2013</span> — Researchers
at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered that the lack of a
critical enzyme in the folic acid metabolic pathway leads to neural tube
birth defects in developing embryos.</div>
<br />
It has been known for several decades that folic acid supplementation
dramatically reduces the incidence of neural tube defects, such as
spina bifida and anencephaly, which are among the most common birth
defects. In some populations, folic acid supplementation has decreased
neural tube defects by as much as 70 percent.<br />
However, scientists still do not fully understand how folic acid
decreases neural tube defects, or why folic acid supplementation does
not eliminate birth defects in all pregnancies.<br />
<br />
"Now, we've found that mutation of a key folic acid enzyme causes
neural tube defects in mice," said Dean Appling, professor of
biochemistry in the College of Natural Sciences. "This is the clearest
mechanistic link yet between folic acid and birth defects."<br />
<br />
Appling and his colleagues published their research in the Jan. 8 issue of <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em> (<em>PNAS</em>).<br />
<br />
The scientists made the discovery using mice that lack a gene for a folic acid enzyme called <em>Mthfd1l</em>, which is required for cells to produce a metabolite called formate. Embryos need formate to develop normally.<br />
"This work reveals that one of the ways that folic acid prevents
birth defects is by ensuring the production of formate in the developing
embryo," said Appling, "and it may explain those 30 percent of neural
tube defects that cannot be prevented by folic acid supplementation."<br />
<br />
Appling said that the mice provide researchers with a strong model
system that they can use to further understand folic acid and its role
in birth defects in humans. In fact, humans share the same gene for the
folic acid enzyme with the mouse and all other mammals. Indeed, it has
recently been discovered that point mutations in that human gene
increase the risk of birth defects.<br />
<br />
Appling said that he and his colleagues would like to use the mouse
system to begin looking for nutrients that could be delivered to
pregnant mothers to prevent those neural tube defects that cannot be
prevented by folic acid.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, women could someday be screened for the gene that
produces the enzyme. If they are deficient, steps could be taken to
improve their chances for developing embryos free of neural tube defects
through further nutrient supplementation.<br />
<br />
Folic acid was discovered at The University of Texas at Austin in the
1940s by biochemists Esmond Snell and Herschel Mitchell. The U.S. has
fortified all enriched cereal grain products with folic acid since 1996
to ensure that women of childbearing age receive adequate quantities of
the vitamin.<br />
<br />
Postdoctoral researcher Jessica Momb and graduate student Jordan
Lewandowski were largely responsible for this research. Co-authors
include graduate student Joshua Bryant, researcher Rebecca Fitch,
researcher Deborah Surman, and Steven Vokes, assistant professor of
biology.lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-53411174685589351762013-01-23T09:24:00.001-08:002013-01-23T09:24:24.631-08:00Going for gold is Rachel's Rio dream for 2016<h1 class="cN-headingPage">
</h1>
<div class="meta hnews">
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<dt class="hiddenVisually"><time datetime="January 18, 2013">January 18, 2013</time></dt>
</dl>
<a href="http://www.canberratimes.com.au/photogallery/act-news/australian-gliders-paralympic-basketball-team-train-at-the-ais-20130117-2cun6.html?selectedImage=1" target="_blank">Photo Gallery</a><br /><br />Rachel Coady was courtside to watch Australia collect silver at
last year's Paralympic Games, but when the Gliders go for gold in Rio
in 2016 she wants to be in the game.<br />
<br />
By then Coady hopes Canberra has a national league wheelchair basketball team to call its own.<br />
The Australian women's wheelchair basketball team has been on
the podium at the past four Paralympics, and has been in camp in
Canberra this week to begin a four-year campaign towards Rio.<br />
<br />
The Gliders have finished with three silver and one bronze
from the past four Paralympics, but coach David Gould said he was
determined to stack Australia's depth for a shot at gold in 2016.<br />
<br />
The Gliders lost the Paralympic final to Germany in London and have already started plotting redemption in Rio.<br />
<br />
''The idea of this camp is to start off our four-year journey
to Rio, with that in mind we decided to bring in a lot of developing
players,'' Gould said.<br />
<br />
''We want to make our squad a lot deeper so as it comes up to
the world championships and Rio Paralympics we've got some really tough
decisions to make for the team.<br />
<br />
''A few of the younger girls probably didn't handle the
pressure in London because it was their first Paralympic final, but
that's the idea behind trying to develop our squad even further now, to
give as many of these girls as much international competition as
possible.''<br />
<br />
Coady, a silver medallist with Australia's Under 25 world
championships team in 2011, was one of the development players invited
to this week's camp in Canberra.<br />
<br />
It was a rare privilege for the 24-year-old to train at
home. There is no Canberra team in the Women's National Wheelchair
Basketball League, comprising five teams across Sydney, Melbourne,
Brisbane and Perth.<br />
<br />
Teams are made up of athletes with varying disabilities,
players given a classification from 1 to 4.5, points decreasing as the
severity of the disability increases.<br />
<br />
Coady, born with spina bifida, is classified as a 1 and commutes to Sydney to train and play with the Sydney University Flames.<br />
<br />
''I go to Sydney twice a month for training, then come back
here and try to do my best,'' she said. ''It'd be great to get a
Canberra team, we're trying to find more players. But it could take a
couple of years.''<br />
<br />
Coady travelled much further to watch the Gliders at the
Paralympics. ''I went to London with my mum to watch all the girls'
games … it's great to go and support.''<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />Read more: <a href="http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/going-for-gold-is-rachels-rio-dream-for-2016-20130117-2cwkb.html#ixzz2IovSnF5M" style="color: #003399;">http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/going-for-gold-is-rachels-rio-dream-for-2016-20130117-2cwkb.html#ixzz2IovSnF5M</a></div>
</div>
<a href="http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/going-for-gold-is-rachels-rio-dream-for-2016-20130117-2cwkb.html#ixzz2IovHaZMo" style="color: #003399;"></a>lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-61726007364898423222013-01-23T09:09:00.004-08:002013-01-23T09:10:41.038-08:00Surgery establishes penile sensation in men with spina bifida<h2 class="esc-lead-article-title">
<span class="titletext"><b></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Surgery establishes penile sensation in men with spina bifida</span></h2>
<header class="entry-header">
<div class="author-info">
December 28, 2012<br />By Chris Mc Cann, UW Health Sciences/uw Medicine <br />
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<div class="story-tags">
<small> <a href="http://www.washington.edu/news/category/uw-and-the-community/" rel="category tag" title="View all posts in UW and the Community"></a></small>
</div>
</header>
A procedure to establish feeling in the penis for men with
spina bifida was performed for the first time in the United States in
Seattle.<br />
<br />
Tony Avellino, UW professor of neurological surgery, and Thomas
Lendvay, a UW associate professor of pediatric urology who practices at
Seattle Children’s Hospital, led the surgical team.<br />
<br />
“This is truly an innovative procedure for either spina bifida
patients or patients with lower-level spinal-cord injury who have
sensation in the groin but not the penis,” said Avellino.<br />
<br />
Lendvay noted that, “Based on the positive results of the first two
patients, this new procedure has the potential to greatly improve the
quality of life in our spina bifida adult and adolescent patients.”<br />
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_21201" style="width: 310px;">
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People with spinal bifida were born with an incomplete closure of
their backbone, often because the neural tube didn’t form correctly
during early embryonic development. Even when the spine is surgically
closed after birth, the spinal cord in the affected section may not work
properly in conducting nerve impulses. The patient may have a
combination of nerve function and loss. They may have paralysis or
numbness in only some parts of their body, for example.<br />
<br />
The new operation is known as “Tomax” (for TO MAX-imize sensation,
sexuality and quality of life). The procedure entails transferring a
branch of the nerve supplying sensation from the thigh skin to the main
skin sensation nerve to the penis. The successful completion of the
procedure allows men with spinal cord impairment to feel sensation in a
previously insensitive penis and improve sexual health.<br />
<br />
Max Overgoor from the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands had
performed 18 successful operations when David Shurtleff, UW professor of
pediatrics, invited him to Seattle to observe the first U.S. operation
of this nature.<br />
<div class="wp-caption-text">
</div>
Lendvay and Avellino performed the procedure at Seattle Children’s
Hospital in March 2009. Their first U.S. patient was a
19-year-old college student. At a recent follow-up appointment, the
young man reported having erogenous penile skin sensation and enhanced
sexuality over the course of the past 18 months.<br />
He said: “Before the surgery, I had no sensation at all. I found that
sex was very frustrating and unsatisfying. Today, I have very good
sensation. … I feel like a gained a body part that I was previously
missing.”<br />
Avellino and Lendvay performed two procedures (at Harborview Medical
Center and UW Medical Center) on another patient who also experienced
erogenous sensation where he had never before felt anything. This man
reported, “It continues to improve my quality of life and makes me feel
like I have a much more normal and complete body.”<br />
<br />
Avellino said the success of this pioneering procedure is due to a
truly multidisciplinary effort. “We can do innovative things here
because we have experts from different specialties collaborating as a
team. Pediatricians, spina bifida specialists, urologists and
neurosurgeons — all working together.”<br />
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_21208" style="width: 209px;">
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Lendvay added, “We are planning to collaborate with our
Rehabilitation Medicine colleagues to expand this surgical opportunity
to patients with traumatic spinal cord injury. We also hope to explore
the role such surgery may have in female patients with spinal cord
lesions.”<br />
<br />
In October, Lendvay presented one of the surgical videos at the
American Academy of Pediatrics meeting in New Orleans during the
“Innovative Procedures in Pediatric Urology” panel. Avellino and
Lendvay have submitted a video of the most recent procedure to the
American Urological Association annual meeting, which will be held May
4–8, 2013, in San Diego, Calif.<br />
<br />
For more information about the procedure, read Overgoor’s <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23079372" title="article in the Journal of Urology">article in the Journal of Urology</a>,
“Increased Sexual Health After Restored Genital Sensation in Male
Patients with Spina Bifida or a Spinal Cord Injury: the TOMAX
Procedure.”<br />
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lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-1824007950515650322013-01-23T09:06:00.001-08:002013-01-23T09:06:58.107-08:00American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends counseling for prenatal spina bifida surgery<span style="font-size: large;">American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists</span><span style="font-size: large;"> recommends counseling for prenatal spina bifida surgery</span><br />
<br />
Published On: 1/21/2013 2:48:37 PM<br />
<br />
BY MARY ELLEN SCHNEIDER<br />
IMNG Medical News<br />
<a href="http://www.imng.com/" target="_blank">http://www.imng.com</a><br />
<br />
Breaking News<br />
<br />
Certain pregnant women who are carrying a fetus with severe
spina bifida should be counseled about the potential benefits and
risks of maternal-fetal surgery, according to the American College
of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.<br />
<br />
The ACOG Committee on Obstetric Practice recently <a href="http://www.acog.org/%7E/media/Committee%20Opinions/Committee%20on%20Obstetric%20Practice/co550.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20130117T1318551230" target="_blank">recommended</a> counseling about maternal-fetal
surgery for myelomeningocele, the most severe form of spina bifida,
following promising results from the procedure in an 8-year
randomized controlled trial (Obstet. Gynecol. 2013;121:218-9).<br />
<br />
In the Management of Myelomeningocele Study (<a href="http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00060606%27" target="_blank">MOMS</a>), prenatal repair before 26 weeks of
gestation reduced the need for a shunt at 12 months and also
decreased the rate of hindbrain herniation by one-third at 12
months of age. The procedure also doubled the rate of independent
walking and produced higher levels of functioning than were
expected based on anatomic levels (<a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1014379" target="_blank">N. Engl. J. Med. 2011;364:993-1004</a>).<br />
<br />
But the study, which was sponsored by the National Institutes of
Health, also found significant maternal and fetal risks. For
example, the surgery was associated with high rates of preterm
birth, fetal bradycardia, oligohydramnios, placental abruption,
pulmonary edema, maternal transfusion at delivery, and an increased
incidence of uterine thinning.<br />
<br />
ACOG cautions that the MOMS trial used stringent inclusion
criteria and rigorous requirements for the experience of the
surgeons involved. As a result, outcomes from the trial should be
considered a "best-case scenario," the committee members wrote.
They urged physicians to use the same inclusion criteria as the
researchers when considering which women to counsel about the
maternal-fetal surgery. The criteria were a singleton pregnancy,
myelomeningocele with the upper boundary between T-1 and S-1,
evidence of hindbrain herniation, gestational age between 19.0 and
25.9 weeks, and a normal karyotype. The major exclusion criteria
included a fetal anomaly unrelated to the myelomeningocele; severe
kyphosis; risk of preterm birth; a maternal body mass index of 35
kg/m<sup>2</sup> or more; and contraindications to surgery,
including previous hysterotomy in the active uterine segment.<br />
<br />
Women should also be counseled about the implications of the
surgery for future pregnancies, the ACOG committee recommended.<br />
<br />
"It is a highly technical procedure with potential for
significant morbidity and possibly mortality, even in the best and
most experienced hands," they wrote. "Maternal-fetal surgery for
myelomeningocele should only be offered at facilities with the
expertise, multidisciplinary teams, services, and facilities to
provide the intensive care required for these patients."<br />
<br />
The study authors declared that they received funding from the
National Institutes of Health. One of the authors reported
receiving funding from Vanderbilt University in Nashville,
Tenn.lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-12237966669215890392012-09-04T14:05:00.000-07:002012-09-04T14:05:05.606-07:00Spina Bifida NZ Disappointed by Folate Decision<h2>
Spina Bifida NZ Disappointed by Folate Decision</h2>
<span class="postedBy">Spina Bifida New Zealand</span><span class="posted newsPosted">Friday 31 August 2012, 11:08AM</span>
Media release from Spina Bifida New Zealand<br />
<br />
The Minister of Food Safety, Kate Wilkinson today announced her
decision not to introduce mandatory folate fortification into New
Zealand, despite this being international best practice in 75 other
developed and developing countries.<br />
<br />
Submissions to the Ministry of Primary Industries that favoured
mandatory fortification were received from professional medical
associations, doctors and families affected by a neural tube defect
(NTD) pregnancy. Submissions favouring voluntary fortification were
received from individual consumers, industry associations and
individual bakery firms.<br />
<br />
In the Ministers briefing paper to Cabinet1 New Zealand had an
average rate for Neural Tube Defect (NTD) affected pregnancies of
12.9 per 10,000 births from 2005-2009. This equates to 80 NTD
affected pregnancies per year based on 19 live births, 14
stillbirths and an estimated 47 pregnancy terminations.<br />
<br /> <a href="http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/industry/fortification-bread-folic-acid/2012-cabinet-paper-folic-acid.pdf">http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/industry/fortification-bread-folic-acid/2012-cabinet-paper-folic-acid.pdf</a><br />
<br />
The decision taken today must mean that the Minister and the New
Zealand Association of Bakers place no value on the lives of 61
babies lost and the impact that this has on their immediate and
extended families. If two buses crashed and 61 children's lives
were tragically cut short, as a country we would honour their lives
with a national day of mourning. The real tragedy is that these
little lives are being lost quietly, out of public (but not
private) view, and are seen as disposable.<br />
<br />
As a society, we are unable to demean disabled people by parading
physically deformed babies before the public or film the pain the
parents feel as they watch their baby being terminated to
demonstrate the trauma and conflict that a NTD diagnosis causes. It
is the unborn babies and those yet to be conceived who will pay the
price for this decision when their lives are cut short and
terminated because they are diagnosed with having a Neural Tube
Defect (including Spina Bifida).<br />
<br />
The New Zealand Government needs to acknowledge that the
termination of an NTD affected pregnancy following prenatal
diagnosis is not part of their preventative strategy. Folate plays
a key role in preventing NTDs for women planning a pregnancy, but
in New Zealand 50% of pregnancies are unplanned. Folate also plays
a key role in other key areas of health, improving cognitive
function in the elderly, development of speech language and
prevention of cleft lip and palate and is required for cell
division and repair. Folate fortification has health benefits for
all of society. These benefits not only have an impact on the
health budget but on the lives of everyday New Zealanders.<br />
<br />
An eminent Canadian doctor, Dr AGW Hunter said that "we need to
feel a sense of responsibility and failure every time a baby is
aborted because of an NTD, or a child is born with this preventable
disability". The decision announced today contravenes the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC Discussion 6
October 1997). The NZ Government has a legal responsibility to
protect children from disability before birth and all circumstances
which might result in disability at the time of birth.<br />
<br />
SBNZ only hopes that the Minister and the New Zealand Association
of Bakers will now bear that responsibility on their shoulders and
that parents of babies diagnosed with Spina Bifida are given access
to the MOH High Cost Treatment Pool to access prenatal surgery
internationally.lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-33258533688787748072012-09-04T14:01:00.002-07:002012-09-04T14:02:01.749-07:00Why pre-natal surgery makes sense, for some, for spina bifida<h1 style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 10px;">
Why pre-natal surgery makes sense, for some, for spina bifida</h1>
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Posted: <b>Aug 24, 2012, 9:17 am</b></div>
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By <b><a href="mailto:jhansel@postbulletin.com">Jeff Hansel</a></b><br />
The Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 9pt;">
<br />
Mayo Clinic surgeons in May performed surgery on a fetus before birth to decrease almost certain complications of spina bifida.<br />
<br />
The baby was born by cesarean section in early August and is doing well, though she might face struggles.<br />
<br />
In "myelomeningocele,"(the most severe form of spina bifida, the spinal
cord is open to the amniotic fluid during pregnancy, and complications
build as the pregnancy progresses. Almost all infants with this form of
spina bifida have complications, such as the brain essentially sagging
toward the spinal column.<br />
<br />
Standard treatment has been surgery after birth, and babies often need a
permanent shunt to drain fluid the brain isn't able to dispose of on
its own.<br />
<br />
Many believed surgery before birth would help because it would allow
babies' neural systems more time to develop naturally. But no one knew
for sure if this would keep more babies alive or, because of a higher
risk of premature birth and other factors, would be harmful.<br />
<br />
So researchers convinced every prenatal surgical center in the U.S. to
cease early-intervention surgeries unless they were part of a national
research study, says a March article in the New England Journal of
Medicine.<br />
<br />
From February 2003 to December 2010, women were offered the surgery at
one of only three locations — Children's Hospital of Philadelphia,
Vanderbilt University and the University of California at San Francisco.
The data was analyzed at an independent center.<br />
<br />
"Children in the prenatal-surgery group were more likely than those in
the postnatal-surgery group to be able to walk without orthotic
devices," the New England Journal article reported. Also, prenatal
surgery before 26 weeks of gestation "decreased the risk of death or
need for shunting by the age of 12 months and also improved scores on a
composite measure of mental and motor function."<br />
<br />
Results were so good that the trial, randomly assigning women to
prenatal surgery or post-natal surgery, was stopped early after 183 of a
planned 200 women pregnant with babies diagnosed with spina bifida were
recruited for the study.<br />
<br />
That doesn't mean spina bifida was cured, nor were all associated
problems fixed. Two babies in each group died. The percentage of deaths
overall was dramatically decreased in the prenatal group, but it
remained high.<br />
<br />
Because of the potential for fetal death, severe physical impairments,
lifelong complications and mental deficits, parents of babies with
severe spina bifida typically are asked whether they want to terminate
the pregnancy.<br />
<br />
Most of those who survive surgery after birth can't get a job without
the presence of a vocational assistant, said Mayo Clinic pediatric
neurosurgeon Dr. Nick Wetjen.<br />
<br />
The hope with the surgery is to improve quality of life and decrease
complications. Parents need to be fully informed of the possible risks
and benefits of the procedures.<br />
<br />
"There are some people that will be helped by this, and there are some
people that we will end up harming, too, because of the nature of the
procedure," said Mayo maternal fetal medicine specialist Dr. Norman
Davies.<br />
<br /><b>
Health reporter Jeff Hansel writes the Pulse on Health column every Monday. Follow him on Twitter @JeffHansel.<br />
</b></span><b><br /></b></div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-90045051990373457462012-09-04T14:00:00.003-07:002012-09-04T14:02:51.047-07:00United Spinal Presents Free Webinars on Healthy Living for People with Disabilities & their Caregivers <div id="rpuCopySelection" style="color: black; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">
<br />
NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — <a href="http://www.unitedspinal.org/" target="_blank">United Spinal Association’s</a> membership division, <a href="http://www.spinalcord.org/" target="_blank">National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA)</a>,
will host two free webinars this September for people living with
disabilities and their caregivers that will focus on ways to discover a
healthy & active lifestyle and how to overcome the challenges of
chronic health issues such as spinal cord injury (SCI), MS, polio, ALS
or spina bifida. <br />
(Logo: <a href="http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110413/MM82757LOGO" target="_blank">http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110413/MM82757LOGO</a> )<br />
<br />
“For people living with disabilities and their caregivers, the
challenges of maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle can be
overwhelming at times. But with the right strategy and outlook, it’s
within everyone’s reach. These webinars will build a foundation for many
to discover better health, as well as happiness and success,” said
Marlene Perkins, VP of Corporate and Community Relations at United
Spinal.<br />
<br />
The first webinar <a href="https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/259373138" target="_blank">Discovering a Healthy &Active Lifestyle</a>–<b>Sept. 5th at 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT</b>, will offer helpful strategies to bring peace and balance to daily living. The webinar will explore ways to: <br />
<ul>
<li>Extend empathy to yourself as easily as you extend it to others. </li>
<li>Cultivate a deep, loving and reverent relationship with oneself. </li>
<li>Quiet self-doubt and tap into one’s intrinsic wisdom. </li>
<li>Explore fears, blocks and behaviors that sabotage success.</li>
</ul>
Speaker: Erena DiGonis, LMSW, CHC; Licensed Psychotherapist and Certified Health Coach<br />
The second webinar <a href="https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/129705106" target="_blank">Staying Healthy Together! Tips for Caregivers & Care Recipients</a>–<b>Sept. 19th at 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT</b>,
will prepare people living with disabilities and their loved ones to
overcome the challenges of chronic health issues such as spinal cord
injury (SCI), MS, polio, ALS or spina bifida. It will also offer
strategies to better communicate with healthcare professionals, become a
strong advocate in healthcare situations and prevent medication/medical
mishaps from taking place.<br />
<br />
Speaker: Mark Gibbons, National Family Caregivers Association<br />
This year, United Spinal has hosted webinars on a variety of
disability-related topics–including healthcare, mobility, research,
public policy, and veterans issues. You can access all of United
Spinal’s previous webinars by visiting its <a href="http://www.spinalcord.org/webinar-archive/" target="_blank">online webinar archive</a>.<br />
<u>About United Spinal Association</u><br />
<br />
United Spinal is a national
501(c) (3) nonprofit membership organization formed in 1946 by
paralyzed veterans and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for
all Americans with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D),
including multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, ALS and post-polio. It
played a significant role in writing the Americans with Disabilities
Act, and made important contributions to the Fair Housing Amendments Act
and the Air Carrier Access Act. Membership is free and is open to all
individuals with SCI/D. United Spinal was instrumental in getting New
York City to create sidewalk curb ramps and accessible public
transportation that has been used as a model for many United States
cities.<br />
<br />
Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.<br />
Marlene Harmon-Perkins — <a href="http://www.profnetconnect.com/marlene_harmon-perkins" target="_blank">http://www.profnetconnect.com/marlene_harmon-perkins</a><br />
SOURCE United Spinal Association<br />
<br />
<span id="curate-us-tag"><a href="http://s.tt/1m0yE"><img height="11" src="http://1.rp-api.com/2812202/via.png" style="border: none; padding-right: 3px; vertical-align: -12%;" width="12" />redOrbit</a> (<a href="http://s.tt/1m0yE">http://s.tt/1m0yE</a>)</span></div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-64517601229367861342012-09-04T13:58:00.002-07:002012-09-04T14:03:25.312-07:00Water contamination victim speaks out<div class="newstext marginMidSide">
<h1 class="marginMidSide">
Water contamination victim speaks out</h1>
<div class="subhead marginMidSide">
<h2>
McMurray expects VA case to reach full resolution in near future</h2>
</div>
<div class="articledate marginMidSide">
September 02, 2012 11:12 AM </div>
<br />
<br />
Spina bifida. Asperger’s syndrome. Tourette’s. Bipolar
disorder. Organic brain dysfunction. These are just a few of the
diseases William McMurray Jr. suffers from, ailments he says his doctors
couldn’t explain for the first 20 years of his life — until they
learned of water contamination aboard <a class="autolink" href="http://www.lejeune.usmc.mil/">Camp Lejeune</a>.<br />
<br />
His is but one story in what many call the greatest case of
contamination in U.S. history. A million Marines, sailors and their
families drank, bathed, brushed their teeth, cooked, swam and washed
their cars, clothes, dishes and pets in bad water at Lejeune for
decades.<br />
<br />
“I spent so long not knowing why I am the way I am,” McMurray, 29,
said in telephone interviews last week from his Tyler, Texas, home.
“When they finally found the conditions and why I was like this I was so
ticked.”<br />
<br />
The horrors of the contamination weren’t understood immediately. One
base housing resident reported the unexplainable death of his dog.
Another said goldfish always ended up floating at the top of the
aquarium. More than 1,000 babies were stillborn or died in infancy
aboard the base from 1947 to 1987, according to an exhaustive survey of
death certificates filed at the Onslow County Register of Deeds.<br />
<br />
The Department of the Navy recommended 50 years ago the regulation of
many of the worst chemicals that found their way into Lejeune’s water
supply, according to 1963’s Manual of Naval Preventive Medicine, which
was just recently made public.<br />
<br />
But throughout the 1960s and 70s, military and civilian employees
poured oil into storm drains, improperly disposed of car batteries and
tossed out used tires and countless other items around the base,
according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which recorded an
incident involving the burial of dog carcasses used in radiological
testing.<br />
<br />
By then, the wells that supplied the base’s potable water swirled
with more than 70 toxic chemicals including trichloroethylene,
tetrachloroethylene, benzene and vinyl chloride, according to EPA
reports.<br />
<br />
By 1980, military and civilian scientists were sounding alarms that
Lejeune’s water was poisonous, but wells were not closed for another
four years and only after state officials became involved, according to
transcripts of Congressional hearings on the matter.<br />
<br />
McMurray was born at the Naval Hospital on Oct. 24, 1982. His father,
a hospital corpsman and Vietnam veteran, had moved his family into base
housing in the year prior. By the time McMurray was born, his mother
had already had one miscarriage and months spent drinking and using the
polluted water in their Tarawa Terrace home.<br />
<br />
McMurray was born in a specialized laboratory because of his multiple
dysfunctions and doctors didn’t expect him to live long. Even if he did
survive, they told his parents, he would never walk. McMurray proved
them wrong, but not without consequence. As he grew his development
stalled, and he was barely able to speak. It took years before he
uttered his first words, and he spent most of his childhood in and out
of hospitals undergoing tests for the myriad of conditions with which he
has been diagnosed, he said.<br />
Beginning in 1984, military officials began to point publicly to a
small, off-base dry cleaner as the source of contamination without
disclosing to environmental regulators that depot storage tanks at
Hadnot Point aboard base had leaked around 1,500 gallons of fuel into
the ground every month for years. When the contamination made headlines,
the base’s commanding general assured his Marines and their families
that their water was safe when chemical levels were among the highest
ever seen in a public water system, according to a series of
investigative reports published by newspapers in Florida, which is home
to more than 12,000 veterans affected by water contamination — the most
of any state except North Carolina.<br />
Trichloroethylene was found at 1,400 parts per billion at Naval
Hospital; 1,148 ppb at an elementary school; and 18,900 ppb in a water
well — up to 280 times higher than what the EPA considers safe today,
according to a review of hundreds of previously safe-guarded military
documents made public by the Senate in July.<br />
<br />
Lejeune was declared a Superfund site in 1989, giving the EPA
authority to clean it up. For the next two decades, veterans fought for
answers and help from the government with thousands dying of cancer.
Military officials made it difficult for anyone, even federally-funded
researchers, to obtain any pertinent information or documentation on the
contamination, according to court records and archived reports.<br />
<br />
The federal government in 2005 cleared the Marine Corps of any
criminal conduct in handling the contamination. An EPA investigator
later testified before Congress that he wanted to charge several Lejeune
officers with obstruction of justice but had been overruled by a
Justice Department counterpart.<br />
<br />
When McMurray finally came to terms with his conditions in 2010, he
took his case to Veteran’s Affairs, with whom he’s been fighting ever
since. By 2011, good news for veterans and dependents like McMurray
began to trickle out as the EPA officially ruled Lejeune water
contaminant TCE to be a human carcinogen. The issue reached its tipping
point in 2012 when lawmakers from North Carolina and Florida crossed the
aisle to push through bipartisan legislation. The resulting Aug. 6 law
requires Veteran’s Affairs to provide medical treatment to military
members and — for the first time — dependents who spent at least a month
aboard Lejeune from 1957 to 1987.<br />
<br />
Total costs are estimated at $3.9 billion over 10 years. Civilian
workers could be entitled to medical benefits under a different law,
according to the U.S. Labor Department.<br />
<br />
McMurray said his Veteran’s Affairs case is expected to reach full
resolution within the next few weeks. Several lawsuits filed by other
former Lejeune residents are still pending in federal court. A federal
report on the number of diseases linked to the contamination is expected
to be completed in 2014.<br />
<br /></div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-66425268533919445352012-08-21T10:11:00.006-07:002012-08-21T10:11:44.217-07:00U.S. to begin cleaning up Agent Orange at tainted Vietnamese site<h2>
U.S. to begin cleaning up Agent Orange at tainted Vietnamese site</h2>
<h2 style="font-weight: normal;">
<span class="toolSet" style="width: 335px;"><div class="byline">
<div class="date">
<span class="dateString">August 8, 2012</span></div>
</div>
</span>
</h2>
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<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
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<br />
<div id="story-body-text">
More than half a century
after the United States began dousing Vietnam with the defoliant Agent
Orange in a bid to clear the jungle that provided cover for Viet Cong
fighters, it is about to begin cleaning up one of the most contaminated
spots left over from the war. <br />
<br />
The cleanup is expected to take four
years and cost more than $43 million. It is the first time that the
U.S. has joined with Vietnam to completely cleanse a site tainted with
Agent Orange, which has been linked to birth defects, cancer and other
ailments.<br />
<br />
"This is huge, considering that for many years the U.S.
and Vietnam could not see eye to eye at all about this issue," said
Susan Hammond, director of the War Legacies Project, a Vermont-based
nonprofit group. "It was one of the last unresolved war legacies between
the U.S. and Vietnam."<br />
<br />
The problem of Agent Orange
had long divided the two nations, which still disagree over the health
effects caused by the toxin. The chemical spray contains dioxin, which
clings to bits of soil and can be ingested by fish and birds, pulling it
into the human food chain. The Red Cross estimates that 3 million
Vietnamese have been affected, including at least 150,000 children born
with birth defects.<br />
<br />
Near the Da Nang site, Vo Duoc fought tears as
he told the Associated Press that he and other family members, who have
suffered diabetes, breast cancer and miscarriages, had tested high for
dioxin. Now he fears his grandchildren could be exposed as well.<br />
<br />
"They had nothing to do with the war," Duoc told the AP. "But I live in fear that they'll test positive like me."<br />
The
U.S. has chipped in for programs to help Vietnamese youth with
disabilities but has shied away from saying their problems are
specifically linked to the chemical. Vietnam has bristled at that
resistance, pointing out that the U.S. has paid billions of dollars in
disability payments to American veterans suffering illnesses linked to
Agent Orange.<br />
<br />
It wasn't until 2006 that the two countries were
able to start progressing toward concrete action, as economic and
strategic ties grew firmer. President George W. Bush visited six years
ago; growing U.S. engagement with Vietnam to offset the rise of China
has bolstered the relationship since.<br />
<br />
"Many people in Vietnam had
given up hope that anything would ever be done about it," said Charles
Bailey, director of the Agent Orange in Vietnam Program at the Aspen
Institute. "Instead, we find that the U.S. is stepping up to the plate."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9117792834064879769" id="more" name="more"></a>The
U.S. also became more willing to partner with Vietnam to mitigate the
effects of Agent Orange as studies began to show its risks were
contained, affecting tens of thousands of people instead of tens of
millions, Hammond said. The worst hot spots were narrowed down to a
handful of sites.</div>
<div id="story-body-text">
</div>
<div id="story-body-text">
Da Nang, once used as an American military base, is
widely seen as the most worrisome hot spot because it sits in the middle
of a densely populated city. Nearby lakes are used to raise fish and
ducks for human consumption.<br />
<br />
Vietnamese authorities poured a
concrete slab over the most badly contaminated area 4 1/2 years ago,
with technical assistance from U.S. environmental officials and the Ford
Foundation, Bailey said. American aid officials also helped plan for
the remaining cleanup to destroy the dioxin in soil and sediment on the
site.<br />
"At last we're working towards a solution," said Bailey, who
lived a decade in Vietnam and has visited frequently since to work on
the issue. He plans to attend the ceremony kicking off the cleanup
Thursday. "It's good for the Vietnamese. It's good for the Americans.
And it's good to get this behind us."<br />
<br />
</div>
<div class="clearfix" id="subFooter">
<div class="copyright">
Copyright © 2012, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times</a></div>
</div>
<h2>
</h2>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-34755992226687525982012-08-21T09:30:00.001-07:002012-08-21T09:30:11.546-07:00Lyla's Hope to help support those with spina bifida<div>
<h2>
Lyla's Hope to help support those with spina bifida</h2>
</div>
<div class="dateLine">
<div class="author">
By JOHN E. USALIS
(Staff Writer)</div>
<div class="date">
Published: August 6, 2012</div>
</div>
<div id="storyrail">
<br /><div class="storyimage">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a class="3624818_gallery_1_1354906" href="http://standardspeaker.com/polopoly_fs/1.1354906%21/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_490/image.jpg" id="3624818_gallery_1_1354906" name="" title="David McKeown/ Staff Photographer
Lyla Rose Salvadore smiles for the camera Friday afternoon at her home in Pattersonsville.">
<img alt="Photo: N/A, License: N/A, Created: 2012:08:03 13:33:38" height="340" src="http://standardspeaker.com/polopoly_fs/1.1354906.1344220964%21/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/image.jpg" style="border: 0px none;" title="" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="imagecaption">
David McKeown/ Staff Photographer
Lyla Rose Salvadore smiles for the camera Friday afternoon at her home in Pattersonsville.</div>
<div class="imagecaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="articleBody">
PATTERSONVILLE - Lyla Rose Salvadore was born with
spina bifida, but that has not stopped her from being all she can be,
taking on a new activity or adventure with the idea that, "But we can
try. We can try." <br />
Those words are Lyla's reply when someone says
that she should reconsider doing something that may be very difficult
with her physical challenges. The five-year-old blonde girl usually gets
her chance to try something new, being very persuasive with her
courage, her bright eyes and a very wide smile.<br />
Lyla sat near her
grandmother, Sharon O'Brien Salvadore, Pattersonville, Union Township,
during part of the interview, enjoying a turkey sandwich - a favorite -
and showing off her small cup decorated with Winnie the Pooh, who she
likes a lot, along with The Goonies.<br />
<br />
When told she was so cute,
Lyla looked up from her sandwich, gave a big smile, and without
hesitation said, "Yeah!" She also has a cat named Hurley.<br />
<br />
According
to the Spina Bifida Association, spina bifida is the most common,
permanently disabling birth defect in the United States. Spina bifida
literally means "split spine." Spina bifida occurs when a baby is in the
womb and the spinal column does not close all of the way. Every day,
about eight babies born in the United States have spina bifida or a
similar birth defect of the brain and spine. The cause is unknown,
though scientists believe that genetic and environmental factors act
together to cause the condition.<br />
<br />
Sharon Salvadore spoke of the
process that led to wanting to help those children and families who may
not have the support in dealing with spina bifida. She said families
have so many "stressors" to deal with, having to get medical care at
hospitals not near home, the time to care and the expenses, including
gasoline for the long drives. Lyla had family support from her mother,
Jade Rusk, and her fiance, John Houston, Salvadore and others.<br />
<br />
"I
would find myself asking myself what would people do if they didn't have
family," Salvadore said. "What about these children who don't have a
network to help them?"<br />
<br />
Salvadore's idea to find ways to help
others came through information on the United by Spina Bifida website
and a reunion of children with the condition at Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia, where she learned of specific needs.<br />
<br />
"That was when I
said that we could do this, find some people to come on board, and a
group of us can raise money," Salvadore said. "And through the network
of friends we were making on the Internet, we can start helping them."<br />
<br />
Salvadore
said the requests that were answered have been small up until recently,
but with the 501(c)3 status in place, the opportunity to help in a
larger capacity is available.<br />
<br />
"Now, we're really going to move forward and go big, because there are a lot of families who need help," Salvadore said.<br />
<br />
"She (Lyla) doesn't have any limits. She just goes and does," Rusk said.<br />
<br />
Lyla was diagnosed before she was born, and Rusk was told about the many potential problems Lyla would have after she was born.<br />
<br />
"The
doctors would mention the problems, but then would add 'We're not
sure,'" Rusk said. "They were like horror stories. Every negative thing
they could say they did. And even after she was born, they said that she
might not walk or other things, and all the things they were not sure
of and wouldn't be able to do, she has done."<br />
<br />
While Lyla needs a
walker to help get around, for short distances, she made short walks
across the room several times, going back and forth between her sandwich
and Rusk and Houston.<br />
<br />
Lyla attended pre-kindergarten last year,
and will enter kindergarten for the new school year at North Schuylkill
Elementary School.<br />
<br />
In May, Lyla's Hope received its 501(3)c
status from the federal government. The specific objectives and purposes
of this non-profit corporation are: <br />
<ul>
<li>To provide material
support for children with neural tube defects, including but not limited
to braces and accessories for the feet, such as shoes, socks and boots.</li>
<li>To provide catheters and accessories, diapers and non-latex items along with medical supplies.</li>
<li>To provide therapy services and equipment.</li>
<li>To assist with transportation during medical emergency and/or hospital stays.</li>
</ul>
Long
term goals are to provide a day camp location where children will have
exposure to nature, and activities in a country setting that
accommodates mobility issues.<br />
<br />
jusalis@republicanherald.com<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-47549702407689562112012-08-21T09:23:00.002-07:002012-08-21T09:23:51.662-07:00Children With Spina Bifida Need Personal ‘Starter’<h2 class="title">
Children With Spina Bifida Need Personal ‘Starter’</h2>
<div class="date">
October 4, 2011</div>
<div class="date">
</div>
<div class="date">
<div id="rpuCopySelection" style="color: black; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">
Children
born with spina bifida often have difficulties to perform everyday
activities. This is not primarily due to being confined to a wheelchair
or to parental overprotection as was previously believed – new research
from the University of Gothenburg shows that it is down to an inability
to initiate and complete a task towards a specific goal.<br />
<br />
Spina bifida is a birth defect in the spine which normally results in
a degree of paralysis in the lower part of the body, difficulty
controlling the bladder and bowel, and a risk of hydrocephalus Recent
research shows that spina bifida often also leads to other
neurologically-related problems, such as varying degrees of executive
function impairment.<br />
<br />
A study of children with spina bifida at the Queen Silvia Children’s
Hospital and the Sahlgrenska Academy in Gothenburg reveals that the
majority of these children struggle to “get things done” independently
in daily life. This inability affects their autonomy in daily life and
their participation in various school situations.<br />
<br />
Although both the children themselves and their parents understand
that they are capable of performing everyday activities in terms of
motor skills, they still do not get done. As many parents put it: “I
suppose he/she can do it is somehow just never done”<br />
<br />
Previously children with spina bifida were often seen as over-helped
due to their loss of motor function, and in some cases the children were
even considered lazy. In her thesis, Marie Peny-Dahlstrand, licensed
occupational therapist and doctoral student at the Sahlgrenska Academy,
can now show that it is not a matter of laziness or reluctance but an
inability to independently see activities through from start to finish,
initiate new steps in an activity, and resolve problems arising during
the course of an activity.<br />
<br />
“Children born with spina bifida are probably held back more by this
reduced ability to ‘get things done’ than by their motor difficulties,”
she explains. “The conclusion is that many children (and indeed adults)
with spina bifida could do with assistance or some other form of support
to act as a starter and problem solver.”<br />
<br />
The difficulties in daily life described in the thesis can probably
also be seen in children and adults with other neurological disorders.
Often these difficulties are hidden behind more obvious motor function
impairments, which means that those with these difficulties are often
misconstrued as being unwilling or having bad habits, Peny-Dahlstrand
explains.<br />
<br />
It is now important for the findings presented in the thesis to be
communicated to parents, school and habilitation staff, and, not least,
needs assessors.<br />
<br />
“Children with spina bifida can then get the right kind of support,
and an opportunity to realize their potential and be as involved as
possible in everyday life, school and social activities – and, as
adults, in society and working life.”<br />
<br /><span id="curate-us-tag"><a href="http://s.tt/1k2MB"><img height="11" src="http://1.rp-api.com/2690895/via.png" style="border: none; padding-right: 3px; vertical-align: -12%;" width="12" />redOrbit</a> (<a href="http://s.tt/1k2MB">http://s.tt/1k2MB</a>)</span></div>
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lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03731622853034675340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117792834064879769.post-13844614084735996542012-08-21T09:20:00.001-07:002012-08-21T09:20:49.111-07:00Nurses from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Review History and Recent Advances of Fetal Surgery for Spina Bifida<h2 class="title">
Nurses from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Review History and Recent Advances of Fetal Surgery for Spina Bifida</h2>
<div class="title">
<br /></div>
<div class="title">
August 10, 2012 </div>
<div class="title">
<br /></div>
<div id="rpuCopySelection" style="color: black; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">
PHILADELPHIA,
Aug. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Thirty years ago the idea of
performing fetal surgery seemed more like science fiction than reality.
Today, however, highly sophisticated surgical teams regularly repair
spina bifida and other birth defects before birth, and fetal therapy is
recognized as one of the most promising fields in pediatric medicine.<br />
(Photo: <a href="http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120810/DC56010" target="_blank">http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120810/DC56010</a>)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.chop.edu/healthinfo/spina-bifida.html" target="_blank">Spina bifida</a>
is the most common birth defect of the central nervous system,
affecting about 1,500 babies born each year in the United States. In
2011, research co-led by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
and published in the <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1014379" target="_blank"><i>New England Journal of Medicine</i></a>,
showed that performing surgery in the womb, months before birth, can
substantially improve outcomes, such as mobility, for children with this
common, disabling birth defect of the spine.<br />
<br />
In a new article<i> </i>in the<i> </i>August 2012 issue of the <i>AORN Journal</i>,
published by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, nurses
from CHOP’s Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment review the history
of <a href="http://www.chop.edu/service/fetal-diagnosis-and-treatment/spina-bifida.html" target="_blank">fetal surgery for spina bifida</a> from inception to current practice.<br />
<br />
“Our Center’s multidisciplinary team has the world’s greatest amount
of experience performing fetal surgery and as a result, CHOP nurses have
had a great opportunity to help advance the field of fetal medicine,”
said Susan M. Scully, BSN, RN, CNOR. “Specifically, as participants in
the landmark Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS), CHOP nurses
contributed to making fetal surgery for spina bifida a standard-of-care
option for families.”<br />
<br />
In their article, “<i>Fetal Myelomeningocele Repair: A New Standard of Care,” </i>Scully
and her co-authors, Maureen Mallon, MBA, BSN, RN, CNOR, Joy C. Kerr,
BSN, CNOR, and Allison Ludzia-DeAngelis BSN, RN, provide an overview of
the field of fetal surgery, the rationale to prenatally repair spina
bifida, the landmark MOMS trial, CHOP’s fetal surgery program and the
important role perioperative nurses have played in this pioneering
treatment.<br />
To read the full article visit: <a href="http://bit.ly/ObW4J0" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/ObW4J0</a><br />
<br />
<b>About the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at CHOP</b>The
Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at The Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia is an internationally recognized leader in fetal surgery
and fetal care. One of the only programs of its kind in the world, it
offers a comprehensive breadth of services, including fetal therapy, to
support patients from prenatal evaluation through delivery, postnatal
care, and long-term follow-up. Established in 1995, the Center has
welcomed more than 12,000 expectant parents and received referrals from
all 50 states and more than 50 countries. Its multidisciplinary team
brings decades of experience to the care and treatment of the fetus and
the expectant mother. The Center has performed over 900 fetal surgeries,
including complex open procedures for birth defects such as spina
bifida; less invasive fetoscopic or ultrasound-guided surgeries for
conditions such as twin-twin transfusion syndrome; and specialized
coordinated delivery approaches for babies that require surgical
intervention while still on maternal-placental life support (EXIT
delivery). For more information visit <a href="http://bit.ly/d3Em7Y" target="_blank">http://fetalsurgery.chop.edu</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>About The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: </b>The
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation’s
first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to
providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of
pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research
initiatives, Children’s Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have
benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among
the largest in the country, ranking third in National Institutes of
Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public
service programs have brought the 516-bed hospital recognition as a
leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information,
visit <a href="http://www.chop.edu/" target="_blank">http://www.chop.edu</a>.<br />
Contact: Ashley Moore <br />The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia<br />Phone: (267) 426-6071 <br /><a href="mailto:MooreA1@email.chop.edu" target="_blank">MooreA1@email.chop.edu</a> <br />
SOURCE The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia<br />
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