FDA to allow folic acid in corn masa to stop birth defects

[Emily]

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-...birth-defects/

FDA to allow folic acid in corn masa to stop birth defects

Originally published April 14, 2016 at 5:55 am Updated April 14, 2016 at 12:37 pm By JoNel Aleccia
Seattle Times health reporter

In a move critics said was long overdue, federal regulators agreed Thursday to allow folic acid to be added to corn-masa flour, possibly preventing devastating birth defects such as those affecting families in Central Washington.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the B vitamin used to fortify enriched wheat and rice flours for two decades can be added immediately to corn masa, the staple grain in the diets of many Hispanics.

The decision comes four years after the March of Dimes and other advocates first formally urged the agency to make the change and nearly a year after a Seattle Times investigation into a Washington state rise in rare and fatal birth defects that may be prevented with folic acid...

 

[Emily]

Still more work needs to be done.

http://news.utexas.edu/2013/01/17/lack-enzyme-in-metabolism-folic-acid-leads-to-birth-defects

[h=1]Lack of Key Enzyme in the Metabolism of Folic Acid Leads to Birth Defects[/h] Jan. 17, 2013
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered that the lack of a critical enzyme in the folic acid metabolic pathway leads to neural tube birth defects in developing embryos.
It has been known for several decades that folic acid supplementation dramatically reduces the incidence of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly, which are among the most common birth defects. In some populations, folic acid supplementation has decreased neural tube defects by as much as 70 percent.
However, scientists still do not fully understand how folic acid decreases neural tube defects, or why folic acid supplementation does not eliminate birth defects in all pregnancies.

"Now, we've found that mutation of a key folic acid enzyme causes neural tube defects in mice," said Dean Appling, professor of biochemistry in the College of Natural Sciences. "This is the clearest mechanistic link yet between folic acid and birth defects."
Appling and his colleagues published their research in the Jan. 8 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The scientists made the discovery using mice that lack a gene for a folic acid enzyme called Mthfd1l, which is required for cells to produce a metabolite called formate. Embryos need formate to develop normally.
"This work reveals that one of the ways that folic acid prevents birth defects is by ensuring the production of formate in the developing embryo," said Appling, "and it may explain those 30 percent of neural tube defects that cannot be prevented by folic acid supplementation."
...
Ultimately, women could someday be screened for the gene that produces the enzyme. If they are deficient, steps could be taken to improve their chances for developing embryos free of neural tube defects through further nutrient supplementation.