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Previous Volume 350:2209-2211 May 20, 2004 Number 21 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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To the Editor: In his Perspective article on folic acid and the prevention of neural-tube defects, Wald (Jan. 8 issue)¹ overestimates the amount of folic acid needed to achieve blood folate levels that provide protection against neural-tube defects. The one study² that actually measured folate levels in affected pregnancies showed a "dose response" curve, with most of the benefit occurring in women with low red-cell folate levels. The current fortification regimen has increased red-cell folate levels by approximately 50 percent and thus should be preventing many folate-related neural-tube defects.

Wald's statement that rates of neural-tube defects in the United States . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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