Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Editorial
. 2004 Dec 10;1(1):5.
doi: 10.1186/1743-8454-1-5.

Epidemiology of neural tube defects and folic acid

David B Shurtleff  1
Affiliations
Editorial

Epidemiology of neural tube defects and folic acid

David B Shurtleff. Cerebrospinal Fluid Res. .

Abstract

This review article combines four disparate observations about Neural Tube Defects (NTDs). They are the worldwide decline in the birth incidence that began prior to prenatal diagnosis; family recurrence risks; the effect of prenatal diagnosis and termination of affected pregnancies; and the effect of folic acid.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
These data were obtained from the Birth Defects Clinic attendance records. Patients with myelomeningocele seen in this clinic represent 98% of individuals with myelomeningocele born in Washington State, USA, during the period that the state maintained a Birth Defects Registry. Preliminary data for the year 2003 suggest a decline in incidence to near the lowest level observed prior to 2002.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Shurtleff DB, Lemire RJ. Epidemiology, etiologic factors, and prenatal diagnosis of open spinal dysraphism. Neurosurg Clin N Am. 1995;6:183–193. - PubMed
    1. Creasy MR, Alberman ED. Congenital malformations of the central nervous system in spontaneous abortions. J Med Genet. 1976;13:9–16. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Luthy DA, Wardinsky T, Shurtleff DB, Hollenbach KA, Hickok DE, Nyberg DA, Benedetti TJ. Cesarean section before the onset of labor and subsequent motor function in infants with meningomyelocele diagnosed antenatally. N Engl J Med. 1991;324:662–666. - PubMed
    1. Nishimura H, Takano K, Tanimura T, Yasuda M, Uchida T. High incidence of several malformations in the early human embryos as compared with infants. Biol Neonat. 1966;10:93–107. - PubMed
    1. Roberts CJ, Lowe CR. Where have all the conceptions gone? The Lancet. 1975;March 1:498–499. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(75)92837-8. - DOI

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources