Variants of folate metabolism genes and the risk of conotruncal cardiac defects.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common and serious group of birth defects, relatively little is known about the causes of these conditions and there are no established prevention strategies. There is evidence suggesting that the risk of CHD in general, and conotruncal and ventricular septal defects in particular, may be related to maternal folate status as well as genetic variants in folate-related genes. However, efforts to establish the relationships between these factors and CHD risk have been hampered by a number of factors including small study sample sizes and phenotypic heterogeneity.

Methods and results

The present study examined the relationships between variation in 9 folate-related genes and a subset of CHD phenotypes (ie, conotrunc

SUBMITTER: Goldmuntz E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3035562 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature