This study examined potential relationships between maternal folate intake during pregnancy and neonatal brain white matter development. Healthy pregnant women were recruited at early pregnancy and their newborns underwent a brain MRI examination at ~2 weeks of age, including diffusion tensor imaging to assess white matter development. We found that folate intake during the second trimester of pregnancy positively correlated with fractional anisotropy (FA) values in brain white matter regions including the genu of corpus callosum and the external capsule. Our findings suggest positive impact of maternal folate intake during pregnancy on offspring brain white matter development.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.