How does folic acid during pregnancy affect the brain development of the child? – Medical Information Bulletin

Researchers examined brain development in infants whose mothers received folic acid supplements in the second and third trimesters of their pregnancy

for women before conception and throughout the first trimester of pregnancy. This dose of folic acid is proven to prevent neural tube defects in early pregnancy. However, researchers are beginning to realize that the level of folic acid a mother can play a role in other areas of child health.

Previous studies report that taking folic acid supplements during pregnancy has beneficial effects on learning. are three and six years old. Scientists believe that these benefits occur because folic acid is involved in key pathways that drive changes to DNA and how genes are regulated, a process called methylation of the liver. DNA. This process can change the way a gene works without changing the actual DNA sequence.

The current study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, examined cord blood samples of folic acid supplementation participants in the Second and Third Quarter Clinical Trials (FASSTT). All mothers participating in the study took 400 micrograms of folic acid daily during the first trimester. The researchers then randomly badigned the participants either to the treatment group or the control group. The treatment group continued with 400 micrograms per day of folic acid supplementation and the control group took placebo without additional folic acid supplementation.

The researchers took cord blood from 86 of the 119 mothers who completed the study. The researchers sequenced the DNA from these blood samples, focusing on nine genes involved in brain development that are known to be regulated by DNA methylation.

They found significant changes in the methylation of DNA. Overall, neonates of mothers who received folic acid supplements in the second and third trimesters had significantly lower DNA methylation levels than those who received only of folic acid during the first trimester

. that connect the folic acid level of a mother to the brain development of a child. However, further investigation is required

Written by Cindi A. Hoover, Ph.D.

Reference: Caffrey A, Irwin RE, McNulty H et al. Gene-specific DNA methylation in neonates in response to folic acid supplementation during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy: epigenetic badysis from a randomized controlled trial. 2018. Am J Clin Nutr 107: 4: 566-575.