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Differentiation of early first‐trimester cranial neural tube defects
Author(s) -
Baken L.,
Exalto N.,
Benoit B.,
van der Spek P. J.,
Steegers E. A. P.,
Groenenberg I. A. L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.202
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1469-0705
pISSN - 0960-7692
DOI - 10.1002/uog.13292
Subject(s) - neural tube , neurulation , neural tube defect , anatomy , anencephaly , neural fold , medicine , neural plate , embryo , biology , embryogenesis , microbiology and biotechnology , gastrulation
Neural tube defects (NTDs) are one of themost commonly reported birth defects and are the result of failure of primary neurulation, the folding and fusion of the neural plate1. We report on three early first-trimester cases with different types of cranial neural tube defects (NTD) not previously reported in ultrasound studies. Previously, it was believed that the process of neural tube closure occurred in a ‘zipper-like’ fashion, starting at one point and proceeding in both cranial and caudal directions. However, neural tube closure is a more complex process. More recently, Nakatsu et al. described three different closure initiation sites of the human neural tube after studying miscarried embryos2. Following from this closure model six different types of cranial NTDs were distinguished, based on location of the closure defect (Figure S1)2. Survival rates significantly decreased if the