folic acid
Η λήψη συμπληρωμάτων καθημερινά για τέσσερα χρόνια, παράλληλα με φαρμακευτική αγωγή μειώνει τον κίνδυνο κατά 75%. Σύμφωνα με προηγούμενες έρευνες, το φολικό οξύ μειώνει την ομοκυστεΐνη, η οποία συνδέεται με το αγγειακό εγκεφαλικό επεισόδιο (ΑΕΕ). Οι ειδικοί πιστεύουν ότι το φολικό οξύ μπορεί να προσφέρει έναν απλό, ασφαλή και οικονομικό τρόπο καταπολέμησης του ΑΕΕ.
Folic-acid supplements slash high blood pressure sufferers’ risk of suffering a stroke by almost 75 per cent, new research suggests.Adults with hypertension who take folic acid, alongside blood-pressure medication, every day for four years are 73 per cent less at risk of the life-threatening condition, a study found today. Previous research suggests folic acid, or vitamin B9, reduces levels of the amino acid homocysteine, which has been linked to strokes, circulating in the blood. The current study’s authors believe folic acid, which pregnant women are advised to take to prevent spina bifida, may be a simple, safe and inexpensive way to combat stroke, which occurs when the blood supply to the brain is cut off. One person suffers a stroke around every five minutes in the UK, with more than 100,000 incidences a year.
Folic acid reduces stroke risk from 5.6% to 1.8%
Out of the study’s over 10,000 people, results suggest that over four years, 210 people taking just the high blood pressure drug enalapril suffered a stroke compared to 161 also receiving folic acid.This demonstrates folic acid may lower a person with high blood pressure’s risk of the condition from 5.6 per cent to 1.8 per cent. The findings are only true among participants with high homocysteine levels and low platelet counts. Platelets are blood cells involved in clotting, with low levels increasing the risk of uncontrolled bleeding and therefore stroke. The findings were published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology.
‘Folic acid – a simple, safe and inexpensive treatment
Study author Dr Yong Huo said: ‘If the findings are further confirmed, we can raise the prospect that we can identify patients at high risk of developing first stroke by measuring both platelet and homocysteine, and we can remarkably lower stroke risk among this subgroup of patients with folic acid – a simple, safe and inexpensive treatment. ‘These results have enormous public health implications given the high incident rate of stroke in many developing countries. ‘Based on our findings, we can detect hypertensive adults at particular high risk of stroke and incorporate a folic-acid supplement tailored to individual genetic, nutritional and clinical characteristics.’We are on the right path to figuring out cost-effective primary prevention strategies for stroke in China and beyond.’ Dr David Spence, director of the Stroke Prevention and Atherosclerosis Research Centre at Robarts Research Institute, Ontario, who reviewed the findings for the journal, added:’The widespread belief that B vitamins do not reduce the risk of stroke is mistaken.
How the research was carried out
The researchers analysed 10,789 adults aged between 45 and 75 with high blood pressure. Around half of the participants were given a daily dose of 10mg of enalapril alongside 0.8mg of folic acid. The remainder were just given enalapril. They were followed for just over four years on average.
Πηγή: Dailymail
