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LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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| Year : 2014 | Volume
: 20
| Issue : 2 | Page : 209-210 |
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Association of maternal folate with methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphism relationship in infants <3 months with Down syndrome
Pankaj Kumar Mohanty1, Seema Kapoor2
1 Department of Neonatology, DNB fellow in Neonatology, Manipal Hospital, Bangalore, India
2 Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics, Lok Nayak Hospital and Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India
| Date of Web Publication | 14-Oct-2014 |
Correspondence Address:
Pankaj Kumar Mohanty
Department of Neonatology, DNB fellow in Neonatology, Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road, Bangalore - 560 017
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/0971-6866.142915
How to cite this article:
Mohanty PK, Kapoor S. Association of maternal folate with methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphism relationship in infants <3 months with Down syndrome. Indian J Hum Genet 2014;20:209-10 |
How to cite this URL:
Mohanty PK, Kapoor S. Association of maternal folate with methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphism relationship in infants <3 months with Down syndrome. Indian J Hum Genet [serial online] 2014 [cited 2016 Aug 23];20:209-10. Available from: http://www.ijhg.com/text.asp?2014/20/2/209/142915 |
Sir,
This is in reference to our article published in Indian Journal of Human Genetics titled "Evaluation of C677T polymorphism of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene and its association with levels of serum homocysteine, folate, and Vitamin B12 as maternal risk factors for Down syndrome (DS)". [1] We found a genuine relationship between maternal folate and MTHFR gene polymorphism in <3 months infants, which was not analyzed in the original article. In DS mothers with baby <3 months, red blood cell (RBC) folate were significantly lower than controls, but not in case of serum folate. Though association with polymorphism was not statistically significant, but gave us a trend [Table 1]. | Table 1: Maternal folate and MTHFR polymorphism relationship-infants <3 months
Click here to view |
Lower RBC folate in mothers with baby <3 months possibly denotes status at conception. [2] RBC folate is a preferred marker to assess long-term folate status. Data's from the selected randomized controlled trials showed that folic acids with dietary folate supply exerted a significant effect on all the markers of folate status, especially for RBC folate. [3] Similarly, a meta-analysis by Mohamed [4] showed that routine folate supplementation in pregnancy resulted in a substantial reduction in the incidence of low serum and RBC levels. Folate requirements during pregnancy are 5- to 10-fold higher than in the nonpregnant condition due to uterine growth, placental enlargement and the growth of the developing fetus. [3] Therefore, folate supplementation during periconceptional period is very essential as shown by our statistics as well. In our study, we failed to get a statistically significant association with MTHFR polymorphism may be due to low sample size. Study with larger sample size with adequate power can prove an association. Folate supplementation may overcome the mutation of MTHFR gene and would therefore may reduce DS.
In conclusion, mothers of infants (<3 months) with DS have very low folate status and have an increasing trend of developing polymorphism (MTHFR).
 References | |  |
| 1. | Mohanty PK, Kapoor S, Dubey AP, Pandey S, Shah R, Nayak HK, et al. Evaluation of C677T polymorphism of the methylenetetra hydrofolate reductase gene and its association with levels of serum homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12 as maternal risk factors for Down syndrome. Indian J Hum Genet 2012;18:285-9.  [ PUBMED]  |
| 2. | James SJ, Pogribna M, Pogribny IP, Melnyk S, Hine RJ, Gibson JB, et al. Abnormal folate metabolism and mutation in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene may be maternal risk factors for Down syndrome. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;70:495-501. |
| 3. | Berti C, Fekete K, Dullemeijer C, Trovato M, Souverein OW, Cavelaars A, et al. Folate intake and markers of folate status in women of reproductive age, pregnant and lactating women: A meta-analysis. J Nutr Metab 2012;2012:470656. |
| 4. | Mahomed K. Folate supplementation in pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2006;3:CD000183. |
[Table 1]
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