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Folic acid deficiency and vision: a review

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Abstract

Folic acid (FA), also termed folate, is an essential vitamin for health at all ages since it participates in the biosynthesis of nucleotides, amino acids, neurotransmitters, and certain vitamins. It is therefore crucial for rapidly growing tissues such as those of the fetus. It is becoming clear that FA deficiency and impaired folate pathways are implicated in many diseases of both early life and old age. FA can be transported into the cell by the folate receptor, the reduced folate transporter, and proton-coupled folate transporter. Folate transport proteins are present in certain eye tissues, which explains why FA plays an important role in eye development. The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the evidence relating FA deficiency to eye diseases.

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Funding

This review has been possible thanks to funding of the Complutense University of Madrid and the Bank of Santander (reference number CT27/16 - CT28/16). Likewise, it was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and competitiveness (TEC2013-40442).

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  1. Faculty of Optics and Optometry, Department of Anatomy and Human Embryology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Arcos de Jalón, 118, 28037, Madrid, Spain

    Ouafa Sijilmassi

  2. Faculty of Optics and Optometry, Department of Optics, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Arcos de Jalón, 118, 28037, Madrid, Spain

    Ouafa Sijilmassi

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Sijilmassi, O. Folic acid deficiency and vision: a review. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 257, 1573–1580 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-019-04304-3

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