#embracethebif

[brightorangerain]

Don't forget to wear yellow for world spina bifida and hydrocephalus awareness day tomorrow!

[hobbitonwheels]

Spina Bifida Facts Part 2

Today is the 14th and since my neurosurgeon decided to cancel on me less than 24 hours before my appointment, I have time to do more spina bifida facts.

8) Some of the physical complications from spina bifida include leg weakness and paralysis, orthopedic issues such as scoliosis and club foot, and abnormal movement of the eyes.

9) The previously mentioned complications can be made worse by a tethered spinal cord, another disorder often associated with spina bifida.

10) Over half of people with spina bifida are allergic to latex. These allergies can range from mild to 'this will kill you'.

11) People with spina bifida have smaller cerebellums, which can result in what is known as an Arnold-Chiari malformation (specifically type II). These malformations can cause such symptoms as tinnitus, dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), and impaired coordination. Hydrocephalus also occurs in 90% of people with myelomeningocele because of the smaller/displaced cerebellum.

12) People with spina bifida, particular those who also have hydrocephalus, are shown to have difficulties with executive functions early in childhood. Things like planning, organizing, and working memory are impaired in people with SB and tend not to improve. People with SB are also shown to have attention problems.

13) Similarly, a study shows that 60% of children with spina bifida have been diagnosed with learning disabilities, particularly discalculia. This is believed to be linked to the thinning of the parietal lobes.

14) Individuals with spina bifida have better reading skills than math skills. Both children and adults with SB have stronger abilities in reading accuracy especially than in reading comprehension.

[hobbitonwheels]

Spina Bifida Facts

I will probably be doing these weekly for this month. Since today is the 7th, here's the first entry of factoids about spina bifida.

1) Spina bifida, which is Latin for 'split spine', is a congenital disorder in which the embryonic neural tube (what an embryo has instead of a central nervous system) does not close completely.

2) There are three types of spina bifida- Meningocele, myelomeningocele, and occulta. Occulta is the least severe form. Because it can be and usually is asymptomatic, people who have it could go literally their entire lives without knowing it. The most severe form is myelomeningocele.

3) Most babies who are born with myelomeningocele spina bifida are also born with hydrocephalus, a condition in which there is too much cerebrospinal fluid around the brain.

4) Though there are several theories as to what causes spina bifida, there has been no solid evidence one way or another. However, researchers do believe that taking 400mcg of folic acid every day, particularly during a pregnant woman's first trimester, can prevent it.

5) Spina bifida is one of the most common birth defects, averaging about one to two cases in every 1000 births worldwide.

6) In the United States, the average is .7 cases in every 1000 births. It has been shown that, specifically, the East Coast has a higher rate of spina bifida than the West Coast and that Hispanic youth are most effected.

7) With an average of 2 to 3.5 cases per every 1000 births, though, the British Isles (particularly Ireland and Wales) hold the highest incidence rates worldwide.

Questions? Ask me! :D