ScottJMWeirDG.The role of folic acid/folate in pregnancy: Prevention is ∗ better than cure. In: BonneJ (editor): Recent Advances in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone; 1998. pp. 1–20. Summarises the history of the research that showed that folic acid can prevent the majority of cases of spina bifida and ther forms of neural tube defects.
2.
ScottJMWeirDG.Folate/vitamin B12 interrelationships. Essays in ∗ BiochemistryLondon: Portland Press1994; 28:63–72. Biochemical background to folic acid and folate metabolism with specific reference to how it overlaps with vitamin B12 metabolism.
3.
WeirDGScottJM.Biochemical basis of neuropathy in cobalamin ∗ deficiency. In: SinghW (editor): Clinics and haematology. London: Balliere's Tindall; 1996. pp. 479–497. Explains how vitamin B12 deficiency causes neuropathy.
4.
ScottJMWeirDG.Homocysteine and cardiovascular disease. Q J Med1996; 89:561–563. A good summary of the evidence that elevated plasma homocysteine may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, putting the evidence at a biochemical and clinical level into context.
5.
MolloyAMDalySMillsJLKirkePNWhiteheadASRamsbottomD∗ Thermolabile variant of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase associated with low red cell folates: Implications for folate intake recommendations. Lancet1997; 349:1591–1593. Introduces the concept that a very common genetic variant alters folate metabolism and nutrition. This may suggest that risk of cardiovascular disease from plasma homocysteine exists in people on what would traditionally be considered to be a good diet because they have a genetic variant that renders them less able to metabolise and retain an important nutrient.
6.
DalyLEKirkePMMolloyAWeirDGScottJM.Folate levels and neural ∗ tube defects. Implications for prevention. JAMA1995; 274:1698–1702. Article concerning the change in risk of spina bifida and other neural tube defects, showing a tenfold increase in risk over what would traditionally be considered the normal range of folate status. Shows an example of a clinical condition where risk varies in the normal range as may happen in the case of the levels of plasma homocysteine seen in apparently normal people, causing an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
