SCIENCE / MEDICINE : Spina Bifida Prevention Seen in Prenatal Surgery

Spina bifida, a common and severe birth defect caused by a defect in the covering of the spinal cord, may one day be prevented by surgery to patch the fetal spine inside the womb, researchers at Johns Hopkins University reported last week at a meeting of the American Assn. of Neurological Surgeons.

The study, conducted by Hopkins neurosurgeon Dan S. Heffez, suggests that spina bifida may result in part from exposure of the spinal cord to the womb’s amniotic fluid. The congenital disorder occurs in about one of every 1,000 births.

Haffez reported that baby rats were paralyzed if the protective spinal cord covering was surgically removed while they were still in the womb. But if skin was sewn over the wound within 24 hours, the rats were “entirely normal,” Heffez said. Years of research remain before such a procedure could be attempted on a human fetus, according to Heffez.