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.

Uninherited genetic mutations can cause spina bifida

Genetic mutations which occur naturally during the earliest stages of an embryo's development can cause the severe birth defect spina bifida, finds a new experimental study in mice led by UCL scientists.

19 Feb 2021

New review recommends a holistic approach to manage cerebral small vessel disease

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is characterized by damage to the blood vessels and parenchyma in the brain. It presents as a multitude of symptoms, which makes the diagnosis difficult.

11 Feb 2021

Mothers of children with autism have many significantly different metabolite levels, study finds

Now, a study by researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Arizona State University, and the Mayo Clinic found that mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder had several marked different metabolite levels two to five years after they gave birth compared to mothers of normally developing children.

17 Jan 2021

Higher temperatures and rainfall impact children's diet diversity

A first-of-its-kind, international study of 107,000 children finds that higher temperatures are an equal or even greater contributor to child malnutrition and low quality diets than the traditional culprits of poverty, inadequate sanitation, and poor education.

14 Jan 2021

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025: Include grains as a healthy eating pattern at any life stage

The Grain Chain, a farm to fork coalition of stakeholders in the grain industry sector and chaired by the American Bakers Association, celebrates the recommendation published today in the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to "consume half of your grains from whole grain sources" and the remainder from enriched grains.

29 Dec 2020

Study highlights rising infant health inequality in the U.S.

After several decades of improvement, inequality in infant health is once again on the rise in the United States, a pair of Brown University researchers has found.

8 Dec 2020

Researchers receive $8.3 million NIH grant to illuminate the causes of spina bifida

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, have been awarded a five-year, $8.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to further illuminate the causes of spina bifida, the most common structural defect of the central nervous system.

20 Nov 2020

Doctors propose ways to reduce obstetrical complications in women with endometriosis

A team of doctors from RUDN University with their Italian colleagues had studied the data of existing studies on the effect of endometriosis on pregnancy and childbirth and suggested ways to reduce obstetrical complications in women with this condition.

15 Oct 2020

Diet and folic acid can influence pregnancy outcomes

Healthy dietary choices are not only important for expectant mothers during the early months of pregnancy but equally important in the months prior to conception.

8 Oct 2020

High levels of folic acid during pregnancy could harm brain development of embryos

A UC Davis MIND Institute study of pregnant mice found that high amounts of folic acid during pregnancy harmed the brain development of embryos. Researchers say the findings indicate that more investigation is needed about the best recommended dosage for pregnant women.

5 Oct 2020

Vitamin E is essential for proper growth of nervous system

In research with key ramifications for women of childbearing age, findings by Oregon State University scientists show that embryos produced by vitamin E-deficient zebrafish have malformed brains and nervous systems.

22 Sep 2020

Scientists detect emergence and spread of artemisinin-resistant malaria parasites in Rwanda

Resistance to artemisinin, the main component of the current antimalarial treatments recommended by WHO, is already widespread in South-East Asia, but it had not previously been described in Africa.

5 Aug 2020

Study shows high folate levels associated with improved cognition in older adults

A new study led by researchers from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at Trinity College Dublin challenges claims from some international scientific circles, that having high blood levels of folate (folic acid) increases the risk of poor cognition in older adults, especially in those with low levels of vitamin B12.

16 Jun 2020

Study reveals biochemical alterations in patients with Lesch-Nyhan disease

An international study by the Institute of Neuroscience of the UAB, Emory University and Hospital Universitario La Paz, published in the PNAS journal, shows that patients suffering from Lesch-Nyhan, a rare neurological disease, present biochemical alterations in skin cells (fibroblasts), urine and cerebrospinal fluid.

4 Jun 2020

High prenatal choline levels may mitigate negative effects of COVID-19 on newborns

Pregnant women who take extra choline supplements may mitigate the negative impact that viral respiratory infections, including COVID-19, can have on their babies, according to a new study from researchers in the Departments of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

1 Jun 2020

Graphene-based nanomedicine enables targeted cancer treatment at molecular level

"Three" kinds of regalia such as crown, orb, and sward are often necessary to be a high king for conquering the world. For fighting off cancerous diseases, what do we need? This "triple" chemical modified nanomaterial might be save the patient.

23 Apr 2020

Study: Antioxidant supplements do not improve semen quality among men with infertility

Antioxidant supplements do not improve semen quality among men with infertility, according to a new study supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health.

28 Feb 2020

U.S. medical panel thinks twice about pushing cognitive screening for dementia

A leading group of medical experts on Tuesday declined to endorse cognitive screening for older adults, fueling a debate that has simmered for years.

25 Feb 2020

Autism in young boys linked to phthalate exposure before birth

A new study published in February 2020 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives shows that being exposed to phthalates during intrauterine life is associated with the occurrence of autistic traits in boys 3-4 years old, but not in girls. These include poor social interaction, repetitive behavior, and a narrow range of interests, stopping short of an actual diagnosis of autism.

19 Feb 2020

Low folate levels associated with malnutrition in hospital patients

About 10% of patients who come to complex care hospitals may have low levels of folate and other indicators of malnutrition, investigators say.

18 Feb 2020