The history of spina bifida dates back to the Babylonian priests, who in 1700 BC first described this spinal opening. In fact, skeletal remains dating back 12,000 years have been discovered with indications of spina bifida. However, few infants born with this condition survived.
Advancements in Spina Bifida Begin during Last Decades
Prior to the 1940s, almost all children born with spina bifida died because of the lack of neurosurgical intervention. Even after neurosurgical closure of the deficit, children often died because of complications from hydrocephalus and kidney failure (see section on Management).
From the 1960s through the seventies and eighties, neurologists and researches focused on a number of solutions (such as inserting ventricular atrial shunts to control hydrocephalus) that successfully addressed one problem but then were found to cause additional, unanticipated ones (renal failure). In the most recent decades, however, research has continued to focus on both solutions to the occurrence of spina bifida and steps for its prevention. The most promising of these involve increasing folic acid intake among pregnant women, which has been shown to have a substantial impact on reducing occurrences of fetal spina bifida.
From the History of Spina Bifida to its Eventual Cure
The history of spina bifida now has moved from a nearly 90 percent mortality rate to a story today of research, treatment and condition-management progress. With today’s advances in management, complications from both hydrocephalus and kidney failure have been minimized and survival has now dramatically improved.
