RIYADH, 17 April 2004 — The National Guard Health Affairs hosted an open forum here Thursday for more than 100 Saudi families of children with spina bifida.
“This interactive session sheds new light on the prevalence and cure of spina bifida, a condition in which part of one or more vertebrae fails to develop completely in children, leaving a portion of the spinal cord unprotected”, said Dr. Abdullah Al-Sobi, a senior pediatrician at King Fahd National Guard Hospital.
“The families were invited to share their experiences of managing the condition,” he said. Children born with severe spina bifida need prolonged, intensive therapy to prevent deterioration in kidney function and physical ability. The risk of giving birth to a child with spina bifida is strongly linked with a deficiency of folate (folic acid) in the diet, especially early in pregnancy, Al-Sobi said.
The severe form occurs in about one in every 7,000 births in Saudi Arabia, he said, adding that symptoms of spina bifida vary depending on how severely the spinal cord and nerve roots are affected. Some children have minimal or no symptoms.
Hospitals are working with the Ministry of Health to add folic acid to wheat. The National Guard Health Affairs has set up a special facility for children suffering from spina bifida. The condition can often be diagnosed before birth with the help of an ultrasound scan. Spina bifida disables the legs. In the least severe type, which is also the most common, one or more vertebrae do not form normally, but the spinal cord and the layers of tissue surrounding it do not protrude. The most severe type is a myelocele, in which the spinal cord protrudes; the affected area appears raw and red and the child is likely to be severely handicapped.
