Folic Acid News and Research

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Folic acid is a B vitamin. It helps the body make healthy new cells. Everyone needs folic acid. For women who may get pregnant, it is really important. When a woman has enough folic acid in her body before and during pregnancy, it can prevent major birth defects of her baby's brain or spine.

Foods with folic acid in them include leafy green vegetables, fruits, dried beans, peas and nuts. Enriched breads, cereals and other grain products also contain folic acid. If you don't get enough folic acid from the foods you eat, you can also take it as a dietary supplement.

Age-related hearing loss associated with low serum levels of folic acid in the elderly

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), one of the four most prevalent chronic conditions in the elderly, is associated with low serum levels of folic acid, according to new research published in the December 2010 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.

1 Dec 2010

Spectrum's FUSILEV sNDA accepted by FDA for review

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in oncology, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing and review the complete response regarding its supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for FUSILEV® (levoleucovorin) for Injection for treatment of patients with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer.

29 Nov 2010

Doctors treating female epilepsy patients have to consider specific hormonal situation

Doctors treating female epilepsy patients have to take account of the specific hormonal situation in women. Such an approach can often reduce the limitations imposed by the disease. This is the conclusion reached by Sabine Weil of Munich University and her co-authors in the latest issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International

25 Nov 2010

Further studies needed over use of Proton-Pump Inhibitors in early pregnancy

Despite the reassurances of Pasternak and Hviid in their study, "Use of Proton-Pump Inhibitors (PPI) in Early Pregnancy and the Risk of Birth Defects," featured in the Nov. 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, an epidemiologist from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) believes that further studies are needed.

25 Nov 2010

Allos Therapeutics to present FOLOTYN data for blood cancers at ASH Annual Meeting

Allos Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that five abstracts, describing FOLOTYN (pralatrexate injection) data across different types of blood cancers, were accepted in the program for this year's 52nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting to be held December 4-7, 2010, in Orlando, Florida.

20 Nov 2010

Micronutrient Initiative receives $75 million to expand innovative nutrition programming

Minister of International Cooperation, Beverley Oda, has announced $75 million in new funding for the work of the Micronutrient Initiative to expand innovative nutrition programming and strengthen African health systems. The investment will be spread over five years and is expected to benefit 4 million pregnant women and 14 million children under the age of five - particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

2 Nov 2010

Spectrum submits complete response to FDA's CRL for FUSILEV to treat colorectal cancer

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in oncology, today announced that on Friday, October 29, 2010 it submitted a complete response to the "Complete Response" letter issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), regarding its supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for FUSILEV (levoleucovorin) for Injection for treatment of patients with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer.

1 Nov 2010

B-complex vitamins slow down mild cognitive impairment

Large doses of B-complex vitamins could reduce the rate of brain shrinkage by half in elderly people with memory problems and slow the progression of dementia.

25 Oct 2010

Research on worms may help develop ways to maintain fertility in humans

Princeton scientists have identified genes responsible for controlling reproductive life span in worms and found they may control genes regulating similar functions in humans. The work suggests that someday researchers may be able to develop ways to maintain fertility in humans, allowing women who want to delay having children to preserve that capacity and extend their reproduction, and to prevent maternal age-related birth defects.

25 Oct 2010

CRN reinforces importance of DHA before, during and after pregnancy

In response to a study regarding fish oil use during pregnancy published in the October 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement industry, reminds pregnant and lactating women of the undisputed importance of consuming the recommended amounts of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) throughout pregnancy.

20 Oct 2010

Folic acid supplement does not reduce cardiovascular events, cancer or death

Use of folic acid supplements appears to lower blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine—theorized to be a risk factor for heart and blood vessel disease—but does not appear to be associated with reduced rates of cardiovascular events, cancer or death over a five-year period, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies in the October 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Oct 2010

Eli Lilly presents ALIMTA Phase III trial results at ESMO Annual Meeting

Eli Lilly and Company announced today that its global Phase III trial evaluating ALIMTA (pemetrexed for injection) in combination with cisplatin in patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN) did not meet its primary endpoint for overall survival. Data were presented for the first time today at the 35th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO).

11 Oct 2010

Allos announces favorable survival data from FOLOTYN Phase 2b study

Allos Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the presentation of favorable survival data from the Company's international, randomized Phase 2b investigational study of FOLOTYN relative to erlotinib in patients with Stage IIIB/IV (advanced) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, patients receiving FOLOTYN had a 16 percent reduction in the risk of death compared to erlotinib in the overall (intent-to-treat) population.

11 Oct 2010

Tips on pregnancy care from NHS Choices

Having a baby is one of the most exciting things that can happen, but parents-to-be might be feeling nervous as well. If it's a first baby, it's hard to know what to expect and you'll want to know what's normal for pregnancy and what's not.

5 Oct 2010

International experts to discuss effect of diet on children's mental and behavioral development

Can diet affect our children's long-term mental and behavioural development. This question will be addressed by a number of international leading experts on child nutrition next 6th of October in York, at a public event organized within the 7th Framework Programme Nutrimenthe, entitled "Effect of diet on the mental performance of children".

5 Oct 2010

Non-reversible gastric bypass surgery linked to increased risk of fetal neural tube defects

An increasing number of obese adolescents, particularly females, are undergoing gastric bypass surgery. Yet a case study presented Sunday, Oct. 3, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco, highlights the possible link between gastric bypass surgery in adolescent girls and an increased risk for neural tube defects, which can lead to varying degrees of disability such as paralysis and mental retardation due to damage to the nervous system, in their future children.

4 Oct 2010

Bayer’s new oral contraceptive receives FDA approval

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new oral contraceptive, Beyaz (drospirenone / ethinyl estradiol / levomefolate calcium tablets and levomefolate calcium tablets).

28 Sep 2010

FDA approves Beyaz tablets to increase folate level in women

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Beyaz tablets, an estrogen/progestin combined oral contraceptive that also contains a folate (levomefolate calcium 0.451 mg).

27 Sep 2010

Allos Therapeutics to present FOLOTYN trial results at ESMO Congress

Allos Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that results from the Phase 2b investigational trial of FOLOTYN (pralatrexate injection) versus erlotinib in patients with Stage IIIB/IV (advanced) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) will be presented at the 35th European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress

10 Sep 2010

Gemcitabine does not improve survival compared with fluorouracil plus folinic acid in resected pancreatic cancer

Use of gemcitabine, a drug that can be effective in treating advanced and resected pancreatic cancer, did not result in improved overall survival after pancreatic cancer resection (surgical removal) compared to patients who received fluorouracil and folinic acid, another treatment regimen that has shown effectiveness, according to a study in the September 8 issue of JAMA.

8 Sep 2010