Myelomeningocele: How we can improve the assessment of the most severe form of spina bifida

Myelomeningocele (MMC) is a devastating spinal cord birth defect, which results in significant life-long disabilities, impaired quality of life, and difficult medical management. The pathological progression of MMC involves failure in neural tube and vertebral arch closure at early gestational ages, followed by subsequent impairment in spinal cord and vertebral growth during fetal development. MMC is irreversible at term. Thus, prenatal therapeutic strategies that interrupt progressive pathological processes offer an appealing approach for treatment of MMC. However, a thorough understanding of pathological progression of MMC is mandatory for appropriate treatment to be rendered. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Spinal cord injury. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.