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Spina bifida & neural tube defects

Spina bifida · Rozštěp páteře a defekty neurální trubice

What it is

The neural tube fails to close in the first month, often before pregnancy is known.

Symptoms & signs

  • Visible lesion on the back
  • leg weakness
  • bladder and bowel problems
  • hydrocephalus
  • club feet

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Headache, vomiting and drowsiness in someone with a shunt
  • call 112 / 911 now Swelling, redness or leaking along a shunt with fever
  • see a doctor soon New weakness, numbness or worse walking
  • see a doctor soon Fever with smelly urine, or new bladder or bowel changes

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Closure surgery in the first days (or in utero)
  • shunt for hydrocephalus
  • urology and orthopaedic care
  • lifelong multidisciplinary follow-up

Natural & lifestyle

  • Folic acid 400 µg before conception and 5 mg in high-risk women — the single most effective prevention
  • food fortification

Emerging & experimental

  • Fetal surgery (MOMS trial protocol)
  • stem-cell-augmented repair

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Inositol with folic acid in high-risk pregnancies — small trials early / small studies
  • Relying on folate-rich foods alone — too little at the dose that prevents it anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes