Open AccessFolate, Vitamin B 12 , and Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Author(s) -
Bottiglieri Teodoro
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
nutrition reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.958
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1753-4887
pISSN - 0029-6643
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-4887.1996.tb03851.x
Subject(s) - homocysteine , vitamin b12 , methylation , methionine synthase , methionine , medicine , depression (economics) , neuropsychiatry , dementia , endocrinology , psychiatry , biology , biochemistry , disease , amino acid , macroeconomics , gene , economics
Folate and vitamin B 12 are required both in the methylation of homocysteine to methionine and in the synthesis of S‐adenosylmethionine. S‐ad‐enosylmethionine is involved in numerous methylation reactions involving proteins, phospholipids, DNA, and neurotransmitter metabolism. Both folate and vitamin B 12 deficiency may cause similar neurologic and psychiatric disturbances including depression, dementia, and a demyelinating myelopathy. A current theory proposes that a defect in methylation processes is central to the biochemical basis of the neuropsychiatry of these vitamin deficiencies. Folate deficiency may specifically affect central monoamine metabolism and aggravate depressive disorders. In addition, the neurotoxic effects of homocysteine may also play a role in the neurologic and psychiatric disturbances that are associated with folate and vitamin B 12 deficiency.