Spina bifida, folic acid supplements prevention

Prevention of fetal neural tube defect (spina bifida). Folic acid supplementation taken before conception and during the early weeks of pregnancy has been shown in an 8-year trial to prevent the condition in pregnancies subsequent to an affected birth. Women hoping to conceive and who have had an affected child are advised to take folic acid 5 mg/day. To prevent a first occurrence 400 micrograms/day should be taken both before conception, or as soon as possible after diagnosis. In both cases folate supplement should be taken for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. 

The answer is a. (Murray, pp 812-828. Scriver, pp 3-45. Sack, pp 167-180. Wilson, pp 287-324.) Spina bifida is a defect of neural tube development that can be partially prevented by encouraging preconceptional folic acid supplementation in women desiring to become pregnant. Examination for subtle evidence of dysmorphology in children with major birth defects is necessary to rule out a syndrome. Syndromes often exhibit Mendelian or chromosomal inheritance. 

---