Spina Biifida History, Treatments, and Discovery

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The human species has developed a great deal of genetic disorders. Most disorders can impact an individual mentally, physically and occasionally, both. Although, many genetic disorders cannot be cured, multiple treatments may take place to manage the developed issues caused by the disorder. Depending on the condition, the life span of the individual could range from death before birth to the average age expectancy for a human. Spina Bifida, also known as “Cleft Spine”, is the most frequently diagnosed permanent birth defect in the United States (“What is Spina Bifida?”). Different levels of intensity categorize the multiple levels of this genetic disorder. Although this defect cannot be cured, there are many treatments that can take place to attempt the ability to embrace a traditional existence.

Discovery

There is a long history behind the discovery of Spina Bifida. “The history of Spina Bifida traces back almost 12,000 years ago” (“The History of Spina Bifida”). In Amsterdam, between 1618 and 1652, after Professor Nicholas Tulp studied a grouping of symptoms, he provided people with the phrase “Spina Bifida” (“The History of Spina Bifida”). In 1761, an Italian named Giovanni Battista Morgagni, associated hydrocephalus with lower-limb deformities (“The History of Spina Bifida”). “Hydrocephalus and infections were the root cause of deaths for those born with Spina Bifida” (“The History of Spina Bifida”). Although it was not treated as an important condition in the beginning of this genetic disorders discovery, around the 1960’s, doctors finally realized the urgency of Spina Bifida and started to treat it as an emergency. “The early mortality rate decreased rapidly, almost reversing the earlier 90% mortality to a survival r...

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