In the United States, the number of cases of diagnosis of a rare anomaly, characterized by the absence of the brain and skull bones in the fetus, continues to grow. American experts admit that they cannot yet understand the reasons for this phenomenon.
According to NBC News, in July last year, the US Department of Health published a report according to which from January 2010 to January 2013 in three counties of Washington - Yakima, Franklin and Benton - 23 cases of diagnosis of a rare anomaly - anencephaly were recorded. … This intrauterine fetal malformation is characterized by complete or partial absence of the brain and bones of the cranial vault.
The first to notice the alarming trend was Sara Barron, 58, a 30-year-old nurse from the Yakima County Medical Center.
“For many years of work, I was faced with the diagnosis of anencephaly only twice, and then the center recorded two cases with this pathology with an interval of only six months,” says the nurse. - I was finally struck by a conversation with a doctor, who admitted that during the study he discovered a third fetus with anencephaly. You know, then I was simply speechless. This is all very strange, since it is at least four times higher than the national average."
The experts involved in the investigation pored over the medical records of pregnant women from 27 districts registered in antenatal clinics, studying where they worked, what they were sick with, whether they consumed alcohol, drugs or smoked foods, in what area they lived and from what source they drank water … In the end, government officials concluded that they had failed to figure out the “conditions or causes” of this phenomenon.
"The results were disappointing, but not entirely unexpected," said scientist Jim Kucik, who participated in the study. - Usually such congenital defects are caused by a combination of factors that are very difficult to detect. It is possible that all this is just a coincidence."
Genetic consultant Susie Ball, on the other hand, thinks there is a problem in three Washington counties that needs more attention to protect women of childbearing age in the future.
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“I would not want to scare people, but what is happening worries me,” she said. - The information received from medical staff should be widely publicized so that women of childbearing age take all the necessary measures to prevent the development of this pathology. First, I advise them to take folic acid."
Scientists have already seen the results of previous studies, which indicated potential risk factors for the development of anencephaly: low levels of folate in the diet, exposure to pesticides and nitrate pollution of drinking water.