Folic acid supplementation in early pregnancy can reduce up to 70 percent of spina bifida cases, according to a new study.
Laura Mitchell, Ph.D., of the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center in Houston, and colleagues reviewed the causes, symptoms and treatments for spina bifida, a condition in which the neural tube (an embryonic form of the brain and spinal cord) fails to fuse.
Results reinforced the public health message for women about to become pregnant. Folic acid supplementation around the time of conception and early pregnancy was found to prevent up to 70 percent of spina bifida cases.
According to the authors, it’s unclear exactly how folic acid prevents the condition, but it’s likely to involve genes that regulate folate transport and metabolism.
Spina bifida is a condition that involves lifelong medical management. It is also one of the most common malformations of human structure.
Mitchell concludes, “Spina bifida is the only birth defect for which there have been tremendous successes in both treatment and prevention. Continuing advances in our understanding of the human genome are providing new opportunities to understand the causes of this disorder and offer the prospect of developing new strategies for the prevention of spina bifida.”
SOURCE:The Lancet, 2004;364:1885-1895