Lee Swanson Research Update

Folate May Protect Against Hemorrhagic Strokes

December 2005

folate

Folate may directly protect patients from hemorrhagic strokes, according to a study published in the journal Stroke. Folate’s cardiovascular protective effect was previously thought to be a result of the role it plays in helping maintain healthy homocysteine levels. The current study shows that folate can also act independently of homocysteine levels to protect the body. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel bursts inside the brain.

Researchers examined blood and dietary levels of folate in 62 patients who had hemorrhagic strokes. The study population was drawn from participants in the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Cohort. Scientists found that patients who had the highest levels of folate in the blood had the lowest risk of developing a hemorrhagic stroke.

Researchers concluded that the results of the study "suggest a positive role for folate, possibly in addition to its effect on homocysteine status," in protecting against hemorrhagic stroke.

Stroke 36:1426, 2005

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