3 ms·
Long term mobility prognosis depends very heavily on the exact level of the spine where the myelomeningocele occurs. It’s not really “progressive”, though, in t
by arkades 7y ago
Long term mobility prognosis depends very heavily on the exact level of the spine where the myelomeningocele occurs. It’s not really “progressive”, though, in the sense that that term is used medically - it’s more just “fragile.”
A progressive disease is one in which the disease process itself continues to operate. In spina bifida the disease process is complete by birth, but the result can be a fragile anatomy prone to subsequent deterioration.
Saffron: I didn’t kill him either.
Mal: No, don’t reckon there’s many you killed. Just put him in a position to die easy.
- falcor84 7y agoWow, I applaud the use of this quote. I have seen references to situations from the Whedonverse used to improve understanding in many areas, but never before in medicine.
- benj111 7y agoOk does it make it less fragile then? Are we talking about someone who has 10 years longer without a wheelchair, or are they never expected to need a wheelchair?
- arkades 7y agoIt does make it less fragile, by putting the spinal nerves back into the protective bones of the spine. We have a shortage of long term data, but studies on kids out to ten years show higher rates of ambulation, and better quality of ambulation.
- benj111 7y agoOk thanks, so we're talking about someone who could walk with crutches at birth, potentially being able to walk with crutches indefinitely then?
- Filligree 7y agoUnlikely, but if they can at least avoid crutches in their childhood then... that isn't nothing. That's a lot, actually. They'll probably need them eventually. Then again, technology does keep progressing. Maybe this will be like many other diseases in the past, and it'll turn out that we've reached escape velocity -- the repairs will outdo the damage. There's no way to know yet. Even so, this article is very good news.