Signs & Symptoms

Spina bifida

The type of symptoms of spina bifida depends hugely on the location of the opening of the spinal cord and whether or not the baby has developed hydrocephalus. Young children who have an opening at the top of the spine are more likely to experience total paralysis of lower limbs and mobility difficulties than children who have the opening located in the middle or base of their spine. Also, hydrocephalus developed children are much more likely to suffer from learning difficulties than children who do not.

There is a wide range of symptoms associated with spina bifida, and these can be categorised into 3 main groups:

• Cognitive symptoms - problem solving difficulties
• Mobility symptoms - muscle weakness and paralysis
• Bladder and bowel symptoms - urine and bowel incontinence

Cognitive Symptoms

The cerebellum is the main affected brain region and it is responsible for important cognitive functions such as concentration, thinking, proccessing of language and coordinated movements. IQ (Intelligence Quotient) can be used as a measurement of these effects. However, it must be noted that some children with spina bifida can achieve measurements of above-average IQ.

People with spina bifida may suffer from specific learning difficulties such as a short attention span, reading difficulties, have difficulties learning languages and difficulties with visual and physical coordination.

Mobility Symptoms

Damage to the nerves in the spinal region may lead to problems controlling muscles affected by that particular area. Most children will suffer from paralysis, either partial or totally. Totally paralysed children require the use of a wheelchair. There are associated problems concerned with this, such as muscle weakness from lack of muscle usage in the legs.

Bladder and bowel Symptoms

The nerves that run through the spinal column also control your bladder and bowel as well as your muscles. They help to control the sphincter muscles that are present in both the bowel and bladder, and acts as a gate. When these muscles relax, they release the urine and stools. Many people with spina bifida disorder have non or limited control over these muscles as the nerves are damaged, so they experience urinary and bowel incontinence.

Anencephaly

As there is yet no effective treatment for anencephaly and also due to the severity of this disorder, most anencephalic babies fail to survive birth. Therefore, there are no symptoms associated with development of the child.

Typical signs observed at birth are:

•  the absence of the bony covering over the back of the head
• absent bones around the front and sides of the head
• cleft palate
• congenital heart defects

Side view of anencephalic fetus. Image courtesy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Anencephaly_side.jpg. Under the Wiki Commons License.