Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

NBDPS
National Birth Defects Prevention Study

Gastrointestinal Birth Defect
Esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula, intestinal atresia, biliary atresia

Cardiovascular Birth Defect
Conotruncal heart defects, septal heart defects, obstructive heart defects, atrioventricular septal defects, single ventricle, anomalous pulmonary venous return, heterotaxy, Ebstein malformation.

Spina bifida
Is a condition that often has disabling consequences. With severe spina bifida, a person’s legs and feet are paralyzed, and there are problems with bowel and bladder control. Learning disabilities are common, and mental retardation sometimes occurs

Pfeiffer syndrome
Many of the characteristic facial features of Pfeiffer syndrome result from the premature fusion of the skull bones. The head is unable to grow normally, which leads to bulging and wide-set eyes, an underdeveloped upper jaw, and a beaked nose.

Alexander disease
Alexander disease is considered one of the leukodystrophies, a group of disorders where the primary abnormality is the inability to maintain the fatty covering (myelin) that insulates nerve fibers in the brain. Alexander disease is a rare disorder of the nervous system that usually begins during infancy or early childhood.

Parkinson's disease
A progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the part of the brain that helps control muscle movement.

BDPM
Birth Defects Monitoring Program

hypothalamus
The part of the brain that controls body functions such as eating, sleeping and sexual behavior, maintains body temperature and chemical balance, and regulates many hormones.

neural tube defect
A structure in early fetal life that develops into the brain, spinal cord, spinal nerves and spine.