JCI table of contents: April 26, 2010 EDITOR'S PICK:
Understanding how folic acid might help heal brain and spinal
cord injuries Babies born to women who do not consume enough
folic acid (sometimes referred to as folate or vitamin B9) are
at high risk of developing neural tube defects (i.e., defects in
the development of the spinal cord or brain). This is the reason
underlying the recommendation that women who are pregnant take a
folic acid supplement. A team of researchers, led by Bermans
Iskandar, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has now
generated data in rodents suggesting that folic acid might also
help promote healing in injured brain and spinal cord.
Specifically, the team was able to uncover a molecular pathway
by which folate can promote nerve cell regeneration following
injury in rodents. In an accompanying commentary, Matthias
Endres and Golo Kronenberg, at Charité – Universitätsmedizin
Berlin, Germany, discuss how these data, together with the
safety and simplicity of folate supplementation