Pregnancy: Closed Neural Tube Differences

A neural tube is where the brain and spinal cord form. During the first few weeks of pregnancy, an unborn baby is primarily made entirely of cells. Those cells start forming different body parts, and specific cells form the tube. This tube will go on to become part of the spinal cord, brain, and other structures such as the backbone. The top part of the tube is what the brain becomes, and the rest of the tube converts to the spinal cord. The tube is hollow, but by the fourth week of pregnancy, it is meant to close up. If the tube doesn’t close up all the way, and there’s a hole somewhere along its length, then the baby will be born with a neural tube defect. A neural tube defect is an abnormality. Each year, there are about 3,000 cases of

It affects about 1,500 children per year. Some cases of spina bifida are more severe than other cases. There are four different types of spina bifida. The first type is called occulta. It is the most common of the four types. One or more of the vertebraes are malformed. Ten to twenty percent of people have this type of spina bifida. This type rarely causes disabilities or symptoms. The second type of spina bifida is called Closed neural tube defects.this type has a varietal group of defects that affect the spineal cord. This type of spina bifida is shown by the malformation of fat, bone, or meninges. Usually, there aren’t any symptoms. Meningocele is the third type of spina bifida. This third type can result in complete paralysis, along with bowel or bladder dysfunction. What happens with this type, is that the spinal luid and meninges stick out through an unusual vertebral opening. The last type, and most severe type of spina bifida is called Myelomeningocele. What happens with this type is that there is an opening of the spine, where the spinal cord and all of the neural elements get exposed. With this type, people can be partially paralyzed in the body parts that are below the spinal cord opening. This can mean that the person who has this can’t walk, or they might have bladder and bowel issues. Sometimes spina bifida can be treated with surgery before or after the child is

This Neural tube defect is not as common, but it is one of the most severe cases. Each year, about 1,000 babies are affected. Anencephaly can occur when the top portion of the spinal cord doesn’t close all the way. That baby that is born with this will have little to no brain matter. The baby may be missing some of its skull, and will have birth defects of the head and face. When the baby is born, it is usually a stillbirth, or they die shortly after they are born. The condition usually makes that babies unconscious, deaf, blind, and some are even unable to feel pain. However, with all of these defects, the baby might still have reflexes, such as breathing and responding to