1. Serum folate level, packed cell volume and haemoglobin concentration of apparently healthy rural Sri Lankan women, between 20 and 45 years and earning up to Rs. 500 (Sri Lankan Rs. 35 u E l Sterling) per month, were estimated during pregnancy and when on oral contraceptive (OC) treatment with Ovulen 50 (ethinyl oestradiol 0.05 mg, ethinodiol diacetate 1 mg). 2. Ovulen 50 administration led t...

The objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between serum folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine levels and the timing of clinical improvement to fluoxetine in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients. A total of 110 outpatients with MDD who responded to an 8-wk trial of fluoxetine had serum folate, B12, and homocysteine measurements at baseline (prior to fluoxetine initia...

OBJECTIVE Determine the correlation between the hearing threshold and the serum levels of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) and folic acid among elderly subjects (> 60 years) with age-related hearing loss (ARHL). STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional. SETTING Community. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Subjects included elderly who were found apparently healthy following repeated examination by physicians. The pure ton...

Rett syndrome was associated with low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5MTHF) in 42-50% of European patients whereas approximately 93% of the patients from North-America had a normal CSF 5MTHF status. We determined the CSF folate status in Rett patients living in North- and South-Western Europe and measured serum folate receptor (FR) autoantibodies of the blocking type to exp...

Reports from some Western countries indicate that mandatory folate food fortification (FFF) has substantially reduced the prevalence of folate deficiency, leading to calls for folate testing following FFF to be limited to specific indications such as macrocytic anaemia. This is premature for low-income countries, where folate deficiency is predominantly the result of poor intake coupled with th...

BACKGROUND Historic reports on the treatment of pernicious anemia with folic acid suggest that high-level folic acid fortification delays the diagnosis of or exacerbates the effects of vitamin B-12 deficiency, which affects many seniors. This idea is controversial, however, because observational data are few and inconclusive. Furthermore, experimental investigation is unethical. OBJECTIVE We ...

UNLABELLED Aims/Introduction:  To estimate nutritional risk factors for osteoporosis in patients with type 2 diabetes, bone mineral density, homocysteine level, and intakes and levels of Hcy-related vitamins including folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 were analyzed in a cross-sectional study. MATERIALS AND METHODS   Lumbar spine and femoral neck bone mineral density, serum concentrations of ...

Folate and vitamin B-12 are important for nervous system functioning at all ages, with important roles in functions such as neurotransmitter synthesis. Although studies suggest a relation between folate and vitamin B-12 and cognitive function in the elderly population, there is relatively less evidence regarding these vitamins and children's cognitive function. The purpose of the study was to e...

BACKGROUND To examine the relationship between reported high serum or red blood cell (RBC) folate status and adverse health outcomes. METHODS We systematically searched PubMed/Medline and EMBASE (to May 2013), with no limits by study type, country or population, to identify studies reporting high folate concentrations in association with adverse health outcomes. Two reviewers screened studies...

The NHANES measured serum and RBC folate concentrations by using a radioassay during prefortification (1988-1994) and postfortification (1999-2006) periods followed by the use of a microbiologic assay (MBA) from 2007-2010. The MBA produces higher concentrations than does the radioassay and is considered to be more accurate. To allow for accurate long-term trending (1988-2010), we evaluated diff...