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Spina bifida: b12 also necessary

01 March 1995

The US and Britain are planning to add folic acid to foods to reduce the risk of spina bifida babies. But new research shows this is only half the story, and that women low in B12 could also be more likely to have a handicapped child.

The new findings, made by researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland could force health authorities to reconsider their next moves.

The authorities had been criticized for potentially exposing large segments of the population not at risk to levels of folic acid far above the daily recommended intake.

With the research findings from the NIH, they could now decrease levels of folic acid and supplement them with B12, or include the vitamin in foods.

The study group examined a group of 404 women in Dublin, Ireland between 1986 and 1990, 81 of whom gave birth to a baby with a neural tube defect, usually spina bifida. Researchers discovered that the 81 women had low to normal levels of B12 in their blood, which causes an increase in two acids, homocysteine and methylmalonic, present in women giving birth to spina bifida babies.

Spina bifida prevented - Taking folic acid (one of the B vitamins) can protect you from producing a baby with spina bifida. ...

Folic acid: how much is much? - Health regulators in the UK and the US are arguing over the levels of folic acid that should be included in food to reduce the risks of spina bifida i...

Folic acid prevents clefts - Expectant mothers are already encouraged to take folic acid from one month before birth to help prevent neural tube defects. But new research also sho...

Folic acid for pregnancy - Medicine is finally waking up to the benefits of pre conceptual care. ...

Folic acid link to heart disease - A lack of folic acid has been identified as a major cause of heart disease, along with smoking, diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure) and chole...

Folic acid may help prevent alzheimer’s - High levels of the amino acid homocysteine may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study carried out at the Boston...

Deafness: Folic acid can protect your hearing as you grow older - Folic acid can help protect your hearing as you age, a new study has found. Participants aged between 50 and 70 years who were given a folic acid supp...

Cancer: lacks folic acid - Certain nutritional deficiencies can enhance the chances of developing cervical cancer in a woman already at risk of developing the disease. ...

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