Folate and Human Development / Edition 1

by Edward J. Massaro, John M. Rogers

Overview

Folic acid not only helps to prevent a variety of serious neural-tube birth defects-among them anencephaly and spina bifida-but is also an important factor in general human health. In Folate and Human Development, an authoritative panel of basic and clinical researchers critically reviews the latest findings on the role of folate in human development, health, and disease. Specific areas addressed include folate metabolism in zinc or copper deficiencies, choline and folate in development, animal models of folate-related birth defects, developmental toxicants potentially acting via folate perturbation, and folate's role in vascular disease in women. There are also cutting-edge discussions of genes and neural tube development, folate receptor polymorphism and the risk for neural defects, abnormal DNA synthesis and methylation with folate/methyl insufficiency, and folic acid and homocysteine as risk factors for neural-tube defects.

Comprehensive and up-to-date, Folate and Human Development critically evaluates our current understanding of the role of folates in human health and disease, offering biomedical and clinical researchers a deeper understanding of the folate and nutrient basis of neural-tube defects.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617372629
Publisher:	Springer-Verlag New York, LLC
Publication date:	11/05/2010
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 2002
Pages:	359
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

Massaro, Edward J.; Rogers, John M.

Table of Contents

1 • Animal Models of Folate-Related Neural Tube Defects.- 2 • Genetic Variation in Folate Metabolism: Impacton Development.- 3 • Folate Deficiency and the Molecular Determinants of Chromosome Instability: Possible Link to Meiotic Nondisjunction and Down Syndrome.- 4 • Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, and Genomic Stability of Human Cells.- 5 • Molecular Genetics of Folate Metabolism.- 6 • Folate Receptor-?: An Update.- 7 • Folate, Homocysteine, and Neural Tube Defects.- 8 • Folic Acid and Homocysteine as Risk Factors for Neural Tube Defects.- 9 • Developmental Toxicants Potentially Acting via Folate Perturbation.- 10 • Brain Development and Choline, the Other Methyl Donor.- 11 • Nutrient Interactions Between Folate and Zinc or Copper: Their Possible Implications to Pregnancy Outcome.- 12 • Regulation of Folate Metabolism by Iron.- 13 • A Differential Role for Folate in Developmental Disorders, Vascular Disease, and Other Clinical Conditions: The Importance of Folate Status and Genotype.- 14 • Vascular Disease in Women: Folate and Homocysteine.- 15 • Folate, Homocysteine, and Cardiovascular Disease.

Editorial Reviews

3 Stars from Doody

Reviewer: William D. Graf, MD (University of Washington/The ACCORD Foundation)
Description: In this comprehensive review of folate and its role in embryology, teratology, and developmental malformations, the authors have assembled detailed synopses by multiple contributors whose expertise ranges from genetics to metabolism to nutrition to teratology to epidemiology.
Purpose: The book summarizes and critically evaluates the importance of folate during early development and the available data to explain the putative mechanisms for its effects. The overall purpose is to describe the research data available as it pertains to the role of folate in preventing human developmental disorders, especially neural tube defects. In general, the authors each meet their objectives of explaining the most significant contributions to their respective scientific disciplines.
Audience: The readers of this book include all individuals interested in a practical, reader-friendly overview of the most important research about folate as it affects human development. All of the contributors in this book are recognized experts in their fields.This book is a useful resource on the topic of folate, nutrition, and development for any clinician who provides care to either children with disabilities or women of childbearing age as well as for researchers in genetics, metabolism, and developmental biology.
Features: The book is divided into 15 parts that cover the most important basic and clinical science including the newest research about genomics, the role of folate homeostasis genes, methylation and homocysteine, folate receptors, embryotoxins, and the interactions of folate with other essential nutrients such as zinc, copper, iron, and choline. Chapters are thoroughly referenced and most include helpful figures and tables. The main editorial weakness of the book as a whole is the redundant reference to the 1991 MRC neural tube defect prevention study. This epidemiologic story is probably well known to all potential readers but it appears to still be the driving force behind much of the basic research striving to elucidate folate's unknown mechanisms. The strength of the book lies in its diverse summaries that allow the reader to envision the potential roles of all B vitamins from genes to whole embryos.
Assessment: Overall, this book provides a thorough synopsis of the currently known and potential roles of folate that affect human embryology, teratology, and congenital defects. The book is well written and thoroughly researched. The text and language are clear, organized, and simplified, but not oversimplified. I highly recommend this book.

Doody's Review Service

"This multi-author volume reads like a research symposium. Each chapter, written by experts in their field, can be read independently without reference to the others. There is considerable repetition with several chapters providing, for example, overviews of folate metabolism. This book represents an invaluable resource for anyone embarking on research in the field of folic acid and birth defects." - Human Genetics

"Each chapter is very well referenced and up-to-date." -Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health

"This book represents an invaluable resource for anyone embarking on research in the field of folic acid and birth defects. This book old be a valuable reference source in any department of human genetics." -Human Genetics

From the Publisher