Website intended for a NZ health professional readership
Folate, or folic acid in its synthetic form, is important for cell growth.
It is especially beneficial to pregnant women as it can help reduce the prevalence of birth defects. Folic acid is already added to many foods voluntarily, but debate still rages on whether it should be a mandatory addition to bread
1. Houghton LA. A country left behind: folic acid food fortification policy in New Zealand. N Z Med J 2014;127: 1399.
2. Huang T, Chen Y, Yang B, et al. Meta-analysis of B vitamin supplementation on plasma homocysteine, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Clin Nutr 2012;31: 448–54.
3. Hooshmand B, Solomon A, Kåreholt I, et al. Associations between serum homocysteine,holotranscobalamin, folate and cognition in the elderly: a longitudinal study. J Intern Med 2012;271: 204–12.
4. Walker JG, Batterham PJ, Mackinnon AJ, et al. Oral folic acid and vitamin B-12 supplementation to prevent cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults with depressive symptoms–the Beyond Ageing Project: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2012;95: 194–203.
5. Coppen A, Bolander-Gouaille C. Treatment of depression: time to consider folic acid and vitamin B12. J Psychopharmacol 2005;19: 59–65.
6. Taylor MJ, Carney S, Geddes J, et al. Folate for depressive disorders. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2003;(2): CD003390.
This article, written by Sidhesh Phaldessai, provides an overview of geriatric psychopharmacology, including the epidemiology of mental health disorders in the older population, the physiological changes that occur with ageing and their impact on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and the use of psychotropic medications in older adults
Current clinical guidelines emphasise the significance of having two Adrenaline Auto-Injectors (AAIs) for individuals at risk of anaphylaxis.1*
