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Anencephaly Spina Bifida Compensation

Anencephaly is a severe birth defect that involves the absence of most of the brain and a portion of the skull. It is a neural tube defect that is the most common of its type. Neural tube defects are problems with the closure of the neural tube in the development of the nervous system in the first trimester of pregnancy. The neural tube is the cluster of cells that eventually form the spinal cord and the brain, including the bony covering of the neural structures.

While anencephaly involves a loss of neural tube closure in the top of the body, spina bifida involves the lack of closure of the neural tube at the bottom or base of the spinal cord. The meaning of "spina bifida" in Latin means "open" or "split" spine. This too occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy. Both spina bifida and anencephaly can be detected prior to the birth of the child during an ultrasound. The biggest difference between the two types of neural tube defects is that anencephaly is untreatable and fatal, while spina bifida can sometimes be treated, with the child having a relatively normal life.

In anencephaly, the child is born with the posterior half of the skull missing and the major portion of the brain missing as well. The breathing centers may be affected, in which case the baby dies at the time of birth. In other situations, the baby lives for a few days or weeks with death occurring due to infection or other complication of anencephaly.

There are two types of spina bifida. There is spina bifida occulta, which is a mild form of the disease in which the bones of the spine are split but there are usually no symptoms and the parents don't know the child has the disease. In spina bifida manifesta, there can be two types. A meningocele involves the lining of the spinal cord pushing through the whole in the vertebral column, making a sac called a meningocele. In a meningomyelocele, the spinal cord and the meninges pass through a hole in the spinal column so that paralysis can happen. Many of these babies also have hydrocephalus. Bowel and bladder control are often impaired and the degree of paralysis depends on where in the spinal cord the meningomyelocele occurs. A high meningomyelocele leads to greater paralysis.

The causes of anencephaly and spina bifida aren't clear. Genetics may be a factor in getting the disease but many children have no family connection. High fevers in the first trimester might increase the chances of spina bifida and women taking valproic acid for seizures seem to have an increased risk. Women who are pregnant should take in plenty of folic acid because a lack of folate in pregnancy has been linked to all types of neural tube defects.

The causes of spina bifida are largely unknown. Some evidence suggests that genes may play a role, but in most cases there is no familial connection. A high fever during pregnancy may increase a woman's chances of having a baby with spina bifida. Women with epilepsy who have taken the drug valproic acid to control seizures may have an increased risk of having a baby with spina bifida.

Symptoms of anencephaly include coma in the child, difficulty breathing, a lack of spontaneous movement and an obvious defect in the skull. The remaining brain is visible because there is no skin or bone overlying the brain parts. Heart defects are also noted in anencephaly and the facial features are distorted by the lack of a complete skull.

In spina bifida, there can be an obvious cyst in the area of the base of the spine. There are bowel and bladder problems, paralysis, hand-eye coordination problems, ADHD and other learning deficits. Again, the degree of paralysis depends on where the dysfunction of the spinal cord is.

The incidence of anencephaly is about 1 out of 10,000 live births. It is almost uniformly fatal at birth or shortly thereafter. Spina bifida is more common, occurring in one to two out of every 1000 births.