NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS IN BASRAH - CLINICAL STUDY

Neural tube defects (NTD) are one of the commonest congenital malformations of the central nervous system, with an average prevalence at birth of 1 per 1000. They are caused by a failure in the process of neural tube closure. Under normal circumstances, the nervous system forms a closed tube after 4 weeks of gestation. Sometimes, for principally unknown reasons, the neural walls do not fuse. This may result in a minor or a major defect: spina bifida occultaorspina bifida aperta, respectively. When the lesion occurs in the cranial region, the anomaly is called anencephaly (1, 2). This paper evaluates the clinical state of parents, obstetric history and makes highlights on clinical state and sex distribution of NTD children in Basrah.