Women can probably reduce their risk by taking a multivitamin that meets the recommended levels of folate, the researchers suggested.
The study found that women with CIN had significantly lower levels of folate in their bodies compared to those without this condition.
Blood samples taken years earlier revealed that those who had low blood levels of folate were far more likely to have suffered atrophy of the cerebral cortex.
Smithells et al.1 found that lower levels of folate and vitamin C were associated with a higher frequency of NTDs.
High levels of folate, the B vitamin found in foods like citrus fruits, leafy green vegetables, beans and grain products, can lower the risk of stroke, a new study reports.
It's possible that only people who have both an ineffective enzyme and low levels of folate sustain high levels of the amino acid long enough to cause harm, says Syed Hussein Askree, a postdoctoral researcher in Ames's lab.
The cellular uptake and competition assays were examined using the HepG2, HeLa, and KB cell lines, which have different levels of folate receptor expression.
Although the chronological link between increased colorectal cancer cases and higher blood levels of folate isn't proof of cause and effect, the Tufts researchers think there are biological reasons why extra folic acid may be to blame.
T-47D and ZR-75-1 human breast cancer cells with different levels of folate receptor expression were used to assess anti-cancer efficacy.
Many types of cancer cells express high levels of folate receptors as they need continuous supply of this vitamin for their proliferation.
The results, published in the July 2007 issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, showed a 15-year decline that was suddenly reversed in the early fortification years, when average blood levels of folate doubled.
