Achievements

 

 

Folate and Spina Bifida
Almost one in every 500 babies is born with a neural tube defect, with most dying early in life. Spina bifida is a neural tube defect that causes varying degrees of paralysis of the legs, effects continence of bowels and bladder and can have other more subtle consequences. Institute researchers, working with other international groups, discovered that increasing the vitamin folate before and during pregnancy helps to prevent neural tube defects in babies. In collaboration with the Health Department of Western Australia, the Institute implemented to world’s first preventative program. The rate of births with spina bifida began falling in 1996 and is nearly half the rate before the research. The Institute has played a key role in lobbying for the mandatory fortification of food with folate.