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I can't tell exactly what it is you want to know by what you wrote, but a tuft of hair on the skin of the back is a common sign of Spina Bifida Occulta.
What else can I help you with?
What does occulta mean?
Occulta means hidden. Spina Bifida Occulta has very few outward signs, other than sometimes a dimple or tuft of hair at the site on the skin.
What happens if you were not diagnosed with Spina Bifida as a child?
That is unlikely to happen unless you have the mildest form of Spina Bifida, known as Spina Bifida Occulta. If you were not diagnosed with it as a child, it might be discovered during an X-ray or MRI. It could explain any leg weakness, back pain, or bowel or bladder problems you have had, if you have had these problems. But many people with Spina Bifida Occulta do not have any symptoms at all other than a dimple or hair patch on the skin at the location on the spine where the defect is.
What are the different types of Spina Bifida?
From the Related link below:Myelomeningocele - most severe form with spinal cord exposureMeningocele - a severe form with the meninges protruding outside the spine under the skin of the backOccult spina bifida - the mildest form with often a small spinal defect often in the lower back
Why do children with Spina Bifida have hairy patch on lower spine and should that area of skin with the hair have been on their head?
The previous answer was garbage. Hair growth from the spinal cord area has to do with mis-regulated gene expression (which may have been the cause of Spina Bifida in the first place) Early in development, some areas of tissue become overly specialized too soon, or areas which should remain stem cell-like fail do so. The neural tube will not fuse as a result, and there may be patches of terminally differentiated hair.
What are some prenatal tests for Spina Bifida?
To understand the extent of the defect x rays, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) scans, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine may be taken.
What are the types of Spina bifida?
From the Related link below:Myelomeningocele - most severe form with spinal cord exposureMeningocele - a severe form with the meninges protruding outside the spine under the skin of the backOccult spina bifida - the mildest form with often a small spinal defect often in the lower back
What is spinidifa?
Perhaps you mean spina bifida? This is a condition where the neural tube fails to properly close at about day 7 post conception. The condition can range in severity from spina bifida occulta, where there is a small opening in the bones of the spine, but the skin over it is closed, to open and exposed spinal cord, to anencephaly (failure of the brain to develop). Folic acid supplement has been included in the flour used in North America to pre-treat all women before conception through normal intake in the diet. Folic acid deficiency has been shown to increase the occurrence of neural tube defects in animal studies.
When the skin is broken how does infection occur?
If the skin is open in any way, bacteria and other microbes can enter in to the body and cause infections. The skin is an important barrier against these. In spina bifida, any opening should be closed.
Can Spina Bifida end life short?
It is possible, but it depends on its severity. Some people with a strong case of meylomeningocele may have more lack of oxygen towards the brain, or more severe bladder and kidney infections due to permanent catheterization. Others wont. I suffer from the harshest one, but I can walk, run, etc and I have only needed two surgeries all my life, but I self-catheterise. So it really depends on how severe and birth deformed it affected the person.
How does Spina Bifida affect the bladder?
AnswerBowel and bladder function are controlled by nerves which come from the lowest levels of the spinal column. Therefore, almost all individuals with Spina Bifida will have trouble controlling their bowel and bladder function. Close attention to emptying the bladder, promptly treating urinary tract infections and maintaining kidney function is essential to preserving the health of individuals with Spina Bifida.
What risk is there with neural tube defects?
There are multiple medical complications associated with spina bifida, especially the most severe form (spina bifida cystica - myelomeningocele, in which a part or parts of the spinal cord protrude through the skin of the back). With the second most common neural tube defect, anencephaly, death ensues rapidly (because the newborn cannot live for long without a brain in the skull). About three quarters of anencephalic babies do survive for a few days or even weeks (since primitive reflexes for suckling and elimination are controlled by the remaining brainstem and spinal cord).
What are the dangers of Spina Bifida Gene found during an ultrasound?
Genes have codes on them that supply information or traits inheritedfrom each of our parents, when we then go on to have a baby the woman's egg and the man's sperm together add a new supply of these traits to their baby. It is the matter that combines to make our baby a unique combination of each parent.The trait for Spina Bifida is what would be found in a genetic study. How great the dangers after finding the trait along with trying to determine what other factors contribute to a child developing the defect and what can be done to prevent the damage. At this time studies suggest it is probably caused by genetic, dietary and environmental factors.Certain anti-seizure medications, diabetes, maternal obesity, an increased body temperature from fever or hot tubs, having a relative with spina bifida; all can increase the chances a woman will conceive a baby with a spina bifida. Most women who give birth to babies with spina bifida have none of these risk factors, and so despite years of research, it is still unknown what causes the majority of cases.Scientists know when parents carry the gene for Spina Bifida their children carry a higher risk of having the birth defect. They also know a daily dose of folic acid (Vitamin B) in women at risk, taken before conception reduces the risk of having a baby with the defect up to 75%. When a couple has given birth to a baby with neural tube defects (NTDs), future children carry about a 3% increase in risk, that risk can be reduced to about 1% if the woman takes high doses of folic acid before and during pregnancy. Continued use of folic acid during pregnancy may reduce the severity of the defects when they do occur. It is unknown how or why folic acid has this effect.Spina Bifida meaning split spine (Latin), is a developmental defect meaning it occurred during embryonic development. Often before the woman realizes she has conceived, the cells that form an early central nervous system come together and fuse between day 21 and 28 forming a single neural tube that will connect and house the brain, fluid and spinal cord. If in the first 28 days, the neural tube fails to close. The result is a defect of the central nervous system called Spina Bifida.When a fetus is found on ultra sound to have Spina Bifida, the risk is determined by what the defect actually consists of. The spine usually provides a protective tube of bones with the nerves (spinal cord) running down the middle. In severe cases of Spina Bifida there can be an opening in the skin and muscles usually found in the babies lower back, the bones do not close round the spinal cord and the nerves can bulge out of the unborn baby's back. Either defects in the spinal cord and/or injury to the protruding nerves can leave the baby paralyzed. While the opening in the spine can be closed, any damage to the nerves is usually permanent. Spina Bifida is the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the United States. Affecting approximately 1 in 1,000 births.Spina Bifida is not just one condition; it is a catch phrase for a multitude of problems affecting the body and the mind. Possibly more important the spirit of everyone in the family.NTDs can involve both the spinal cord causing nerve damage and paralysis and also development of the brain; anencephaly is a neural tube defect (NTD) that occurs when the head end of the neural tube fails to close, this can cause a portion of the brain and skull to be malformed or missing. Infants born with this condition are born missing part of the cerebrum, most having this condition are blind and deaf.Encephalocele, is usually determined shortly after birth when the membrane that covers the brain protrudes through a small opening in the skull. The severity depends on where on the head it forms and whether the brain tissue is also found to be outside of the cranium. Both physical and mental delays are common issues, paralysis, microcephaly, vision problems, seizures and mental retardation.Children with Spina Bifida often have hydrocephalus, which literally means water on the brain, but the fluid is actually cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), malformed ventricles aren't able to drain and excess fluid will build up. The worst case scenario is the presence of excess fluid build up putting pressure on the brain. The pressure can push brain tissue aside causing more damage and is the reason a shunt is put in to the brain allowing excess to be drained off into the abdomen where it is reabsorbed by the body.Spina Bifida Occulta (or hidden) is the most mild form. In occulta, the outer part of some of the vertebrae are not completely closed. The split in the vertebrae is so small that the spinal cord does not protrude. The skin over the lower spine on a person with occulta may appear normal, or there may be a small dimple, a dermal sinus, a lipoma or birth mark.Spina Bifida Cystica A cyst protrudes through the defect in the vertebral arch causing a dorsal dural sac looking much like a blister on the baby's back. The terms spina bifida and myelomeningocele are usually used interchangeably. Spina bifida cystica may result in hydrocephalus and neurological deficits.Meningocele is the less severe and less common defect, where the spinal cord does not protrude into a dural sac and the vertebrae develop normally. However the meninges are forced into the gaps between the vertebrae causing tethering and the surgery to free the cord has notbeen found to be of great success due to scar tissue forming. Untethering is the second most common surgical procedure after shunts in children with Spina Bifida.Myeolomeningocele is a protrusion from the an opening in the spinal column in which the sac pressed through the bony opening contains tissue and cerebro-spinal fluid but also nerves and part of the spinal cord. The spinal cord is not properly developed or damaged. As a result, there is always some paralysis and loss of sensation from the damaged region down. The amount of disability depends on where the Spina Bifida is, and the amount of affected nerve tissue involved. Most people with myelomeningocele experience bower and bladder problems due to the loss of spinal pathways relaying information up and down the spinal cord .Spina bifida with myeloschisis is the most severe form of spina bifida cystica. In this defect, the involved area represented by a flattened, plate-like mass of nervous tissue with no overlying membrane. The exposure of these nerves and tissues make the baby more prone to life-threatening infections and surgery is usually performed soon after birth, if the baby is medically stable. If the opening is small enough doctors may leave it to heal on it's own.These conditions can be diagnosed in utero by ultrasound imaging. or the basis of elevated levels of alpha-fetoprotein after amniocentesis.Research has shown that up to 75% of all people with Spina Bifida have an allergy to latex. Because allergies can develop over time and reactions can be progressively worse the doctors and other caretakers need to limit the amount of latex products that come into contact with their patients who have NTD starting at birth.Currently there are studies underway to determine whether surgery performed in utero or waiting until after birth provides the best outcome When surgery is performed on a fetus skin grafts are used to cover the exposed spinal cord, to protect it from further damage caused by prolonged exposure to amniotic fluid. The surgery may prevent more damage from occurring but at this time damage to the spinal cord cannot be repaired. The fetal surgery may decrease some of the damaging effects of the spina bifida, but the is risk to both the fetus and the pregnant woman.The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), a part of the NIH, is currently looking for women pregnant with a baby known to have Spina Bifida. The Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS) website has information on the trial, at attached link.
