title: Clinical and laboratory features and sequelae of deficiency of folic acid (folate) and vitamin B12 (cobalamin) in pregnancy and gynecology.
abstract: Classically, deficiency of folic acid (folate) or vitamin B12 (cobalamin) was recognized by the presence of a macrocytic anemia resulting from megaloblastic changes in the bone marrow. A markedly changing paradigm has identified both new mechanisms for altered folate and cobalamin status and new sequelae and clinical interrelationships that include altered mechanisms of absorption, a changing pattern of neurologic deficits, an increased risk of vascular occlusive lesions, and an important relationship with the mechanisms of neoplastic transformation. Several of these newer characterizations relate to issues of neoplasia in the nonpregnant woman and to issues in pregnancy, such as the potential for developmental abnormalities of the fetal nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, USA.
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Frenkel
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Yardley
mesh_terms: D000749:Anemia, Megaloblastic; D000752:Anemia, Pernicious; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000502:physiology; D005494:Folic Acid Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D020138:Hyperhomocysteinemia / Q000209:etiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011250:Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000502:physiology; D014806:Vitamin B 12 Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D005492:Folic Acid; D014805:Vitamin B 12