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Folic Acid in Pregnancy May Prevent Kids' Language Delays
Posted 11 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Oct. 11 – Taking folic acid supplements before and during pregnancy was linked to a decreased risk of a having a child with a severe language delay at age 3, according to new research. The Norwegian study found that women who took no folic acid supplements before and during pregnancy had more than twice the risk of having a child with a serious language delay compared to women who took folic acid supplements. "Maternal use of supplements containing folic acid within the period from four weeks before, to eight weeks after conception was associated with a substantially reduced risk of severe language delay in children at age 3 years," said the study's lead author Christine Roth, a Ph.D. student in the division of mental health at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo. Results of the study are published in the Oct. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical ... Read more
Related support groups: Dietary Supplementation, Folic Acid, Materna, Prenatal Plus, Prenatal Multivitamins, Multivitamin, Prenatal, Prenavite PC, Vitafol-OB, Prenatabs FA, Prenavite, TriCare, Prenatal 1 Plus 1, Select-OB, Maternity, OB Complete
Higher Folic Acid Levels in Teens Tied to Academic Success
Posted 11 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, July 11 – Teens who have high levels of folic acid appear to do better in school than those with lower levels, Swedish researchers report. "Folate intake had a positive association with academic achievement" in the students studied, the authors wrote in the report published in the July 11 online edition and the August print issue of Pediatrics. Not only should health providers monitor folic acid levels in teens, but the findings should influence school meals, school teaching and information given to parents, according to the researchers. Teens often have high levels of the blood protein homocysteine, an amino acid linked to heart disease, and low levels of folic acid. In previous studies, folic acid levels have been linked to mental ability; however, until now this had not been linked with improved school performance, the study authors said. "We know that folate plays a really ... Read more
Related support groups: Dietary Supplementation, Folic Acid, Folacin-800, Folvite, FA-8
Study May Dispel Worries About High Levels of Folic Acid
Posted 11 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, June 10 – Consuming high amounts of folate – through supplements and foods fortified with folic acid – does not disrupt a healthy body's use of vitamin B12, according to new research. Folic acid – the synthetic form of the vitamin folate – is added to grain products in the United States to reduce women's risk of conceiving a child with a neural tube birth defect. But some worry that folic acid levels in these foods may be too high for other people. Their concerns stem from studies that found that people with low B12 levels and high folate levels were more likely to have anemia than those with low B12 levels and normal folate levels. B12 is needed to make red blood cells, and people with low levels of B12 can develop anemia, as well as numbness and tingling in the hands and feet. The new study found, however, that anemia and other problems related to low levels of vitamin ... Read more
Related support groups: Folic Acid, Folacin-800, Folvite, FA-8
Folate May Not Protect Against Premature Birth
Posted 10 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 10 – In a study that included data on nearly 73,000 Norwegian women, researchers found that taking folate during pregnancy didn't appear to reduce the rate of premature births. "[Our] data do not support a protective effect of folate on spontaneous preterm delivery frequency, but folate does not seem to have an adverse effect on pregnancy either," said study author Dr. Verena Sengpiel, from the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Goteborg, Sweden. This finding sharply contrasts with those of a U.S. study reported in 2008 that found that taking folate for a year before getting pregnant could drop the risk of preterm birth by as much as 70 percent. However, despite this debate over preterm birth benefits, folate is still recommended by health experts before and during pregnancy because this important vitamin helps prevent neural ... Read more
Related support groups: Dietary Supplementation, Folic Acid, Folacin-800, FA-8
Hearing Loss in Elderly May Be Linked to Folate Deficiency
Posted 1 Dec 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 1 – Low levels of folic acid (folate) may be associated with age-related hearing loss, says a new study. Hearing loss affects more than 28 million Americans aged 60 to 74. Despite that high prevalence, little is known about the biological basis of age-related hearing loss, researchers say. This study of 126 healthy Nigerian men and women over age 60 found that low serum levels of folic acid, a B vitamin, were significantly associated with hearing loss in high frequencies. The finding appears in the December issue of the journal Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. "Based on our research, age-related hearing loss may be associated with poor micronutrient status. The role of folate in cellular metabolism, the nervous system, and vascular function are important for the auditory system," study author Akeem Olawale Lasisi said in a journal news release. The researchers ... Read more
Related support groups: Folic Acid, Hearing Loss, Folacin-800, FA-8
No Heart Benefit Seen From Folic Acid Supplements
Posted 11 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Oct. 11 – Despite reducing levels of a protein associated with heart disease, supplements containing the B vitamin folic acid don't reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease, death or cancer, according to a new large-scale analysis of studies on the issue. Folic acid helps prevent devastating neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida. Since it also lowers blood levels of the protein homocysteine, which is linked with heart and blood vessel disease and other ills, some scientists hoped that the powerful vitamin might lower the risk of heart disease, stroke or cancer. The current meta-analysis suggests that even taken at high doses, folic acid supplements don't have that effect. The report is published in the Oct. 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Vitamins are necessary to prevent diseases of deficiency like scurvy and rickets, but more is not necessarily ... Read more
Related support groups: Folic Acid, Folacin-800, Ferrous Fumarate/Folic Acid, Hemocyte-F, Ferrous Fumarate/Folic Acid/Iron Polysaccharide, Nephro-Fer RX, Ed Cyte F, Tandem F, Ferrocite F, Ferrous Sulfate/Folic Acid, Hematinic with Folic Acid, Cyanocobalamin/Folic Acid/Pyridoxine/Strontium Gluconate, Ircon-FA, Bonisara, Slow Fe with Folic Acid
Vitamin B May Not Guard Against Second Stroke, Heart Attack
Posted 5 Aug 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Aug. 3 – Stroke patients who take vitamin B supplements to lower their homocysteine levels may not be protected from second strokes or heart attacks, a new study finds. Earlier studies found an association between homocysteine, an amino acid, in the blood, and an increased risk for stroke and heart attack. Vitamin B supplements lower homocysteine levels, but whether this really has an effect on stroke and heart attack risk has been unclear, the Australian researchers noted. "B vitamins are safe, but they were not, statistically, significantly more effective than placebo in preventing major vascular events among stroke and TIA [transient ischemic attack] patients," said lead researcher Dr. Graeme J. Hankey, head of the stroke unit at Royal Perth Hospital in Western Australia. "B vitamins have not been proven to have a role in secondary stroke prevention." The report is ... Read more
Related support groups: Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Pyridoxine, Cyanocobalamin, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin B6, Folacin-800, B-12 Dots, Depo-Cobolin, Cobal-1000, Vitabee 12, Crystal B-12, Nascobal, Crysti-12, Vitelle Nestrex
More Evidence That B Vitamins Alone Won't Counter Heart Risks
Posted 22 Jun 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, June 22 – A new study by British researchers provides the most conclusive evidence to date that taking vitamins to reduce levels of the blood protein known as homocysteine doesn't lower the risk of heart problems. Homocysteine has been a buzzword among heart disease experts since the early 1990s when scientists noticed that people with elevated levels had an increased risk of heart disease. Because folic acid and other B vitamins are known to lower homocysteine, researchers theorized that taking a daily supplement might lead to heart-related benefits. The study of more than 12,000 heart attack survivors showed that taking a daily folic acid and vitamin B12 supplement for nearly seven years lowered homocysteine levels by an average of 28 percent, but failed to reduce the risk of heart attack, coronary death or stroke. Seven previous large-scale trials that looked at whether ... Read more
Related support groups: Vitamins, Multivitamin, Folic Acid, Metanx, Vitamin B12, Cerefolin, Cerefolin NAC, Cyanocobalamin, Thera, Neurobion, Vitamin B-12, StressTabs, Folbee, Cod Liver Oil, Daflon
Folic Acid Fortification Shouldn't Be Forced
Posted 12 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Aug. 21 – Mandatory fortification of foods with folic acid (vitamin B9) may be unnecessary for new mothers and their babies, Irish researchers report. Their study of blood samples found that most new moms and babies get enough folic acid from foods that are voluntarily fortified by food companies. Consuming adequate amounts of folic acid before and during pregnancy helps reduce the risk of certain birth defects, such as spina bifida. As in many other countries, folic acid is voluntarily added to breakfast cereal, bread and other food products in Ireland, but food safety officials there are discussing whether to make such fortification of foods mandatory. "We set out to explore how much unmetabolized folic acid is present in Irish people exposed to the current range of 'voluntarily' fortified foodstuffs, and to predict the increase in levels should a policy of mandatory ... Read more
Related support groups: Dietary Supplementation, Folic Acid, Folacin-800, FA-8
Folate Levels in Pregnancy Tied to ADHD in Offspring
Posted 1 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Nov. 3 – Low folate levels during pregnancy are associated with higher odds for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring aged 7 to 9, new research has found. The findings seem to support the long-held belief that folate (folic acid) levels in expectant mothers influence their children's nervous system development. The researchers also found that children of mothers with low folate levels had notably smaller head circumference at birth, which may indicate a slower rate of prenatal brain growth. The study was released online Oct. 28 in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. "Our findings further support the hypothesis that maternal nutrition contributes to an individual's development, with potential consequences for their behavior later in life," study author Wolff Schlotz said in a news release from the ... Read more
Related support groups: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Folic Acid, Materna, Prenatal Plus, Prenatal Multivitamins, Multivitamin, Prenatal, Prenavite PC, Vitafol-OB, Prenatabs FA, Prenavite, TriCare, Prenatal 1 Plus 1, Select-OB, Maternity, OB Complete
Folic Acid Fortification Might Boost Cancer Risk
Posted 1 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Nov. 17 – Although folic acid fortification of foods can prevent many birth defects, it may also increase the risk for developing cancer, Norwegian researchers report. Since 1998, many countries have mandated folic acid (vitamin B9) fortification of foods to decrease the incidence of neural-tube defects in newborns. By October 2009, the flour produced in these countries, plus the flour that is fortified voluntarily, represented 30 percent of the world's wheat flour produced in large mills. In addition, some 40 percent of those living in the United States also take dietary supplements containing folic acid, the researchers noted. However, "Folic acid fortification and supplementation may not necessarily be as safe as previously assumed," said lead researcher Dr. Marta Ebbing, from the Department of Heart Disease at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen. "Public health and ... Read more
Related support groups: Vitamins, Multivitamin, Folic Acid, Metanx, Cerefolin, Cerefolin NAC, Thera, Neurobion, StressTabs, Folbee, Cod Liver Oil, Therobec, Daflon, Poly-Vi-Sol, Folbic
Folic Acid Late in Pregnancy Tied to Asthma in Kids
Posted 1 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Nov. 13 – Children born to women who take folic acid in late pregnancy are at increased risk for asthma, Australian researchers say. The University of Adelaide study included more than 500 women whose diet and supplements were assessed during pregnancy. The women's children were checked for asthma at age 3.5 years and at 5.5 years. Asthma was found in 11.6 percent of children at 3.5 years and in 11.8 percent of children at 5.5 years. "In our study, supplemental folic acid in late pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of asthma in children, but there was no evidence to suggest any adverse effects if supplements were taken in early pregnancy," Michael Davies, an associate professor at the university's Robinson Institute, said in a news release from the school. The researchers also said they found no association between asthma and dietary folate, which is found in green, ... Read more
Related support groups: Asthma, Folic Acid, Folacin-800, FA-8
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Vitamin/Mineral Supplementation and Deficiency, Folic Acid Deficiency, Anemia, Megaloblastic