Has folate a role in the developing nervous system after birth and not just during embryogenesis and gestation?

Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation

Volumn 72, Issue 3, 2012, Pages 185-191

  Breimer, Lars H ^a   Nilsson, Torbjörn K ^a,b  

^a ÖREBRO UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL   (Sweden)

^b ÖREBRO UNIVERSITY   (Sweden)

Author keywords

Developing nervous system; Folate; Intellectual performance; Neural tube defects; School grades; Societal aspects

Indexed keywords

CYANOCOBALAMIN; FOLIC ACID;

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT; CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE; EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT; GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY; NERVE CELL PLASTICITY; NERVOUS SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT; PREGNANCY; PRIORITY JOURNAL; REVIEW; SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISM; SOCIAL STATUS;

ADOLESCENT; CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES; CHILD; CHILD, PRESCHOOL; COGNITION DISORDERS; EDUCATIONAL STATUS; EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT; FOLIC ACID; FOLIC ACID DEFICIENCY; HUMANS; NERVOUS SYSTEM; NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS; SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS; VITAMIN B 12;

ANIMALIA;

EID: 84859622116     PISSN: 00365513     EISSN: 15027686     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3109/00365513.2012.657230     Document Type: Review

References (73)

1. Czeizel AE, Dudas I. Prevention of the first [1] st occurrence of neural-tube defects by periconceptional vitamin supplementation. N Engl J Med 1992;327:1832-5. (Pubitemid 23003073)
2. Czeizel AE. Prevention of congenital abnormalities by periconceptional multivitamin supplementation. BMJ 1993;306: 1645-18. (Pubitemid 23168393)
3. Czeizel AE. Reduction of urinary tract and cardiovascular defects by periconceptional multivitamin supplementation. Am J Med Genet 1996;62:179-83.
4. Berry RJ, Li Z, Erickson JD, Li S, Moore CA, Wang H, Mulinare J, Zhao P, Wong LY, Gindler J, Hong SX, Correa A. Prevention of neural-tube defects with folic acid in China. China-U.S. Collaborative Project for Neural Tube Defect Prevention. N Engl J Med 1999;341:1485-90.
5. Czeizel AE. Periconceptional folic acid and multivitamin supplementation for the prevention of neural tube defects and other congenital abnormalities. Birth Defects Res Part A 2009;85:260-8.
6. Ionescu-Ittu R, Marelli AJ, Mackie AS, Pilote L. Prevalence of severe congenital heart disease after folic acid fortification of grain products: time trend analysis in Quebec, Canada. BMJ 2009;338:b1673.
7. Beaudin AE, Stover PJ. Insights into metabolic mechanisms underlying folate-responsive neural tube defects: a minireview. Birth Defects Res (Part A) 2009;85:274-84.
8. van Beynum IM, Kapusta L, Bakker MK, den Heijer M, Blom HJ, de Walle HEK. Protective effect of periconceptional folic acid supplements on the risk of congenital heart defects: a registry-based case-control study in the northern Netherlands. Eur Heart J 2010;31:464-71.
9. MRC Vitamin Research Group. Prevention of neural tube defects: results of the Medical Research Council Vitamin Study. Lancet 1991;338:131-7.
10. Laurence KM, James N, Miller MH, Tenant GB, Campbell H. Doubleblind randomized controlled trial of folate treatment before conception to prevent recurrence of neural tube defects. BMJ 1981;282:1509-11. (Pubitemid 11096562)
11. Vergel MC, Sanchez LR, Heredero BL, Rodriguez PI, Martinez AJ. Primary prevention of neural tube defects with folic acid supplementation: Cuban experience. Prenat Diagn 1990;10:149-52. (Pubitemid 20184778)
12. Kirke PN, Daly LE, Elwood JH. A randomized trial of low-dose folic acid to prevent neural tube defects. Arch Dis Child 1992;67:1442-6. (Pubitemid 23008267)
13. Pitkin RM. Folate and neural tube defects. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:285-8S. (Pubitemid 46067650)
14. Various. A Festschrift in honor of professor R W Smithells. Birth Defects Res (Part A) 2009;85:251-339.
15. Michie CA. Neural tube defects in 18th century. Lancet 1991;337:504.
16. Schuitemaker GE. Folate and neural tube defect risk: paradigm shift after forty years of research. J Orthomolec Med 1998;13:52-6. (Pubitemid 128506869)
17. Nelson MM, Asling CW, Evans EH. Production of multiple congenital abnormalities in young by maternal pteroylglutamic acid deficiency during gestation J Nutr 1952;48: 61-79.
18. Meltzer HJ. Congenital anomalies due to attempted abortion with 4-aminopteroglutamic acid. JAMA 1956; 161:1253.
19. Hibbard BM, Hibbard ED. Aetiological factors in abruptio placentae. BMJ 1963;2:1430-6.
20. Hibbard ED, Smithells RW. Folic acid metabolism and human embryopathy. Lancet 1965;285:1254.
21. Hibbard BM, Hibbard ED, Jeffcoate TNA. Folic acid and reproduction. Acta Obstet Gynaec Scand 1965;44:375-460.
22. Hibbard BM, Hibbard ED. Recurrence of defective folate metabolism in successive pregnancies. J Obstet Gynaec Brit Cwlth 1966;73:428-30.
23. Smithells RW, Sheppard S, Schorah CJ. Vitamin deficiencies and neural tube defects. Arch Dis Child 1976;51: 944-50. (Pubitemid 8021028)
24. Smithells RW, Sheppard S, Schorah CJ, Seller MJ, Nevin NC, Harris R, Read AP, Fielding DW. Possible prevention of neural tube defects by periconceptional vitamin supplementation. Lancet 1980;315:339-40. (Pubitemid 10219521)
25. Smithells RW, Sheppard S, Schorah CJ, Seller MJ, Nevin NC, Harris R, Read AP, Fielding DW. Apparent prevention of neural tube defects by periconceptional vitamin supplementation. Arch Dis Childhood 1981;56:911-8. (Pubitemid 12250482)
26. Smithells RW, Sheppard S, Wild J, Schorah CJ. Prevention of neural tube defect recurrences in Yorkshire: final report. Lancet 1989;334:498-9. (Pubitemid 19209157)
27. Mulinare J, Cordero JF, Erikson JD, Berry RJ. Periconceptional use of multivitamins and the occurrence of neural tube defects. JAMA 1988;260:3141-5.
28. Bowen C, Stanley FJ. Dietary folate as a risk factor for neural-tube defects: evidence from a case control study in Western Australia. Med J Aust 1989;150:613-9. (Pubitemid 19193772)
29. Milunsky A, Jick H, Jick S, Bruell CL, MacLaughlin DS, Rothman KJ, Willett W. SO. Multivitamin/folic acid supplementation in early pregnancy reduces the prevalence of neural tube defects. JAMA 1989;262:2847-52. (Pubitemid 20002544)
30. Mills JL, Rhoads GG, Simpson JL, Cunningham GC, Conley MR, Lassman MR, Walden ME, Depp OR, Hoffman HJ. The absence of a relation between the periconceptional use of vitamins and neural-tube defects. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neural Tube Defects Study Group. N Engl J Med 1989;321: 430-5.
31. Lumley J, Watson L, Watson M, Bower C: Periconceptional supplementation with folate and/or multivitamins for preventing neural tube defects. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2001;CD001056.
32. Greene NDE, Massa V, Copp AJ. Understanding the causes and prevention of neural tube defects: insights from the Splotch mouse model. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 2009;85:322-30.
33. Frosst P, Blom HJ, Milos R, Goyette P, Sheppard CA, Matthews RG, Boers GJ, den Heijer M, Kluijtmans LA, van den Heuvel LP. A candidate genetic risk factor for vascular disease: a common mutation in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. Nat Genet 1995;10:111-3.
34. Mudd SH, Uhlendorf BW, Freeman JM, Finkelstein JD, Shih VE. Homocystinuria associated with decreased methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase activity. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1972;46:905-12.
35. Blom HJ. Determinants of plasma homocysteine. Am J Clin Nutr 1998;67:188-9.
36. Lievers KJ, Boers GH, Verhoef P, den Heijer M, Kluijtmans LA, van der Put NM, Trijbels FJ, Blom HJ. A second common variant in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene and its relationship to MTHFR enzyme activity, homocysteine, and cardiovascular disease risk. J Mol Med 2001;79:522-8. (Pubitemid 32905549)
37. Ramsbottom D, Scott JM, Molloy A, Weir DG, Kirke PN, Mills JL, Gallagher PM, Whitehead AS. Are common mutations of cystathionine beta-synthase involved in the aetiology of neural tube defects? Clin Genet 1997;51: 39-42. (Pubitemid 27116898)
38. Wilson A, Platt R, Wu Q, Leclerc D, Christensen B, Yang H, Gravel RA, Rozen R. A common variant in methionine synthase reductase combined with low cobalamin (vitamin B12) increases risk for spina bifida. Mol Genet Metab 1999;67:317-23. (Pubitemid 29406795)
39. Kalter H. Folic acid and human malformations: a summary and evaluation. Reprod Toxicol 2000;14:463-76.
40. Z etterberg H, Zafiropoulos A, Spandidos DA, Rymo L, Blennow K. Gene-gene interaction between fetal MTHFR 677C T and transcobalamin 776C G polymorphisms in human spontaneous abortion. Hum Reprod 2003;18: 1948-50. (Pubitemid 37107574)
41. Zetterberg H. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and transcobalamin genetic polymorphisms in human spontaneous abortion: biological and clinical implications. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2004;2:1-7.
42. Laanpere M, Altmäe S, Stavreus-Evers A, Nilsson TK, Yngve A, Salumets A. Folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism and its effect on female fertility and pregnancy viability. Nutr Rev 2010;68:99-113.
43. Piedrahita JA, Oetama B, Bennett GD, van Waes J, Kamen BA, Richardson J, Lacey SW, Anderson RG, Finnell RH. Mice lacking the folic acid-binding protein Folbp1 are defective in early embryonic development. Nat Genet 1999;23:228-32. (Pubitemid 29455399)
44. Nilsson TK, Yngve A, Böt tiger AK, Hurtig-Wennlöf A, Sjöström M. High dietary folate intake is related to better academic achievement in 15-year-old Swedish adolescents. Pediatrics 2011;128:e358-65.
45. Ramaekers VT, Sequeira JM, Blau N, Quadros EV. A milk-free diet downregulates folate receptor autoimmunity in cerebral folate deficiency syndrome. Dev Med Child Neurol 2008;50: 346-52. (Pubitemid 351560294)
46. Miller ER, Juraschek S, Pastor-Barriuso R, Bazzano LA, Appel LJ, Guallar E. Meta-analysis of folic acid supplementation trials on risk of cardiovascular disease and risk interaction with baseline homocysteine levels. Am J Cardiol 2010;106:517-27.
47. Holmes MV, Holmes MV, Newcombe P, Hubacek JA, Sofat R, Ricketts SL, et al. Effect modification by population dietary folate on the association between MTHFR genotype, homocysteine, and stroke risk: a meta-analysis of genetic studies and randomised trials. Lancet 2011;378:584-94.
48. Hultdin J, Van Guelpen B, Winkvist A, Hallmans G, Weinehall L, Stegmayr B, Nilsson TK. Prospective study of first stroke in relation to plasma homocysteine and MTHFR 677C T and 1298A C genotypes and haplotypes-evidence for an association with hemorrhagic stroke. Clin Chem Lab Med 2011;49:1555-62.
49. van Guelpen B, Hultdin J, Johansson I, Stegmayr B, Hallmans G, Nilsson TK, Weinehall L, Witthöft C, Palmqvist R, Winkvist A. Folate, vitamin B12, and risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke: a prospective, nested case-referent study of plasma concentrations and dietary intake. Stroke 2005;36:1426-31. (Pubitemid 40967506)
50. Galloway M, Rushworth L. Red cell or serum folate? Results from the National Pathology Alliance benchmarking review. J Clin Pathol 2003;56:924-6. (Pubitemid 37533235)
51. Refsum H, Smith AD, Ueland PM, Nexo E, Clarke R, McPartlin J, Johnston C, Engbaek F, Schneede J, McPartlin C, Scott JM. Facts and recommendations about total homocysteine determinations: an expert opinion. Clin Chem 2004;50:3-32. (Pubitemid 38125696)
52. Yetley EA. Monitoring folate status in population-based surveys. BioFactors 2011;37:285-9.
53. Schedvin G, Jones I, Hultdin J, Nilsson TH. A laboratory algorithm with homocysteine as the primary parameter reduces the cost of investigation of folate and cobalamin deficiency. Clin Chem Lab Med 2005;43:1065-8. (Pubitemid 41581962)
54. Crasinescu CN, Brown EC, Mar MH, Albright CD, Nadeau MR, Zeisel SH. Folic acid deficiency during late gestation decreases progenitor cell proliferation and increases apoptosis in fetal mouse brain. J Nutr 2004;134: 162-6. (Pubitemid 38057441)
55. Holmes-Siedle M, Dennis J, Lindenbaum RH, Galliard A. Long term effects of periconceptional multivitamin supplements for prevention of neural tube defects: a seven to 10 year follow up. Arch Dis Child 1992;67:1436-41. (Pubitemid 23008266)
56. Czeizel AE, Dobó M. Postnatal somatic and mental development after periconceptional multivitamin supplementation. Arch Dis Child 1994;70:229-33. (Pubitemid 24136412)
57. Dobó M, Czeizel AE. Long-term somatic and mental development of children after periconceptional multivitamin supplementation. Eur J Pediatr 1998;157:719-23. (Pubitemid 28419098)
58. Veena SR, Krishnaveni GV, Srinivasan K, Wills AK, Muthayya S, Kurpad AV, Yajnik CS, Fall CH. Higher maternal plasma folate but not vitamin B12 concentrations during pregnancy are associated with better cognitive function scores in 9- to 10-year-old children in South India. J Nutr 2010;140:1014-22.
59. Del Río Garcia C, Torres-Sán chez L, Chen J, Schnaas L, Hernández C, Osorio E, Portillo MG, López-Carrillo L. Maternal MTHFR 677C.T genotype and dietary intake of folate and vitamin B(12): their impact on child neurodevelopment. Nutr Neurosci 2009;12:13-20.
60. Bhate V, Deshpande S, Bhat D, Joshi N, Ladkat R, Watve S, Fall C, de Jager CA, Refsum H, Yainik C. Vitamin B12 status of pregnant Indian women and cognitive function in their 9-year-old children. Food Nutr Bull 2008;29:249-54.
61. Herrmann W, Obeid R, Schorr H, Geisel, J. Functional vitamin B12 deficiency and determination of holotranscobalamin in populations at risk. Clin Chem Lab Med 2003; 41:1478-88. (Pubitemid 37493564)
62. Herrmann W, Obeid R, Schorr H, Hübner U, Geisel J, Sand-Hill M, Ali N, Herrmann M. Enhanced bone metabolism in vegetarians: the role of vitamin B12 deficiency. Clin Chem Lab Med 2009;47:1381-7.
63. Masalha R, Afawi Z, Mahajnah M, Mashal A, Hallak M, Alsaied I, Bolotin A, Ifergan G, Wirguin I. The impact of nutritional vitamin B12, folate and hemoglobin deficiency on school performance of elementary school children. J Pediatr Neurol 2008;6:243-8.
64. Louwman MWJ, van Dusseldorp M, van de Vijver FJ, Thomas CM, Schneede J, Ueland PM, Refsum H, van Staveren WA. Signs of impaired cognitive function in adolescents with marginal cobalamin status. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;72:762-9.
65. Sen S, Kanani SJ. Impact of iron-folic acid supplementation on cognitive abilities of school girls in Vadodara. Ind Pediatr 2009;46:137-43.
66. Nilsson K, Gustafsson L, Hultberg B. The plasma homocysteine concentration is better than that of serum methylmalonic acid as a marker for sociopsychological performance in a psychogeriatric population. Clin Chem 2000;46:5691-6.
67. Iskandar BJ, Nelson A, Resnick D, Skene JH, Gao P, Johnson C, Cook TD, Hariharan N. Folic acid supplementation enhances repair of the adult central nervous system. Ann Neurol 2004;56:221-27. (Pubitemid 39037917)
68. Iskandar BJ, Rizk E, Meier B, Hariharan N, Bottiglieri T[68] , Finnell RH, Jarrard DF, Banerjee RV, Skene JH, Nelson A, Patel N, Gherasim C, Simon K, Cook TD, Hogan KJ. Folate regulation of axonal regeneration in the rodent central nervous system through DNA methylation. J Clin Invest 2010; 120:1603-16.
69. Smith AD, Smith SM, de Jager CA, Whitbread P, Johnston C, Agacinski G, Oulhaj A, Bradley KM, Jacoby R, Refsum H. Homocysteine-lowering by B vitamins slows the rate of accelerated brain atrophy in mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One 2010;5: e12244.
70. de Jager CA, Oulhaj A, Jacoby R, Refsum H, Smith AD. Cognitive and clinical outcomes of homocysteine-lowering B-vitamin treatment in mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2011 Jul 21. doi: 10.1002/gps.2758 in press.
71. De Laet C, Wautrecht JC, Brasseur D, Dramaix M, Boeynaems JM, Decuyper J, Kahn A. Plasma homocysteine concentrations in a Belgian school-age population. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;69:968-72. (Pubitemid 29205072)
72. Papandreou D, Mavromichalis I, Makedou A, Rousso I, Arvanitidou M. Total serum homocysteine, folate and vitamin B12 in a Greek school age population. Clin Nutr 2006;25:797-802. (Pubitemid 44426432)
73. Nicklas TA, O'Neil CE, Berenson GS. Nutrient contribution of breakfast, secular trends, and the role of ready-to-eat cereals: a review of data from the Bogalusa Heart Study. Am J Clin Nutr 1998;67:757-63S. (Pubitemid 28153180)