Efficacy of folic acid prophylaxis for the prevention of neural tube defects

Neural Tube Defects in Basrah - Clinical Study

“…However, these serious birth defects are to a large extent preventable by adequate intake of folic acid by women of the reproductive age and several studies reported that preconceptional supplementation of folic acid can prevent up to 50% of the cases of NTD as well as cardiac and craniofacial abnormalities [11][12][13]. Despite wide availability of its natural food sources (green leafy vegetables, bananas, legumes), folic acid deficiency among women of reproductive age is common worldwide (14,15) usually as a result of low-dietary intake or cooking losses (16).…”

The Role of Folic Acid in the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects

“…Folic acid deficiency was identified as cause of NTD and other birth defects in 1965 by Hibbard & Smithells, other studies by the later www.intechopen.com suggested that its supplementation could greatly reduce the incidence of these central nervous system malformations (Smithells, 1959(Smithells, , 1983. Since then, multiple research investigations have validated the role of folic acid in preventing neural tube defects (Watkins, 1998). Folate metabolism evaluation revealed that it is an important co-factor necessary in the conversion of homocysteine to methionine.…”

Research: Prevalence of neural tube defects Khartoum, Sudan August 2014–July 2015

“…However, these serious birth defects are to a large extent preventable by adequate intake of folic acid by women of the reproductive age and several studies reported that preconceptional supplementation of folic acid can prevent up to 50% of the cases of NTDs as well as cardiac and craniofacial abnormalities [9–11]. Despite wide availability of its natural food sources (green leafy vegetables, bananas, legumes), folic acid deficiency among women of reproductive age is common worldwide [12, 13] usually as a result of low-dietary intake or cooking losses [14].…”