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Previous Volume 350:101-103 January 8, 2004 Number 2 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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In 1991, a randomized trial funded by the Medical Research Council demonstrated that folic acid supplementation before pregnancy and during its early stages markedly reduced the risk of neural-tube defects in newborns.¹ This finding — which indicated that neural-tube defects may be considered to represent a vitamin-deficiency disorder — led to the recommendation that all women who are planning to become pregnant should take folic acid supplements beginning before pregnancy is recognized and continuing through its early stages. Once a pregnancy has been confirmed, it is probably too late for supplemental folic acid to be protective.

In this issue of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Source Information

From the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London, London.

Related Letters:

Folic Acid and the Prevention of Neural-Tube Defects
Mills J. L., Signore C. C., Quinlivan E. P., Gregory J. F. III, Czeizel A. E., Wald N. J.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2004; 350:2209-2211, May 20, 2004. Correspondence

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