Abstract
The syndrome associated with the fragile X has become recognized as a common cause of mental retardation in males and some females. The fragile X chromosome is expressed only when cells from the patients are grown in medium deficient in folic acid or containing a folate antagonist. This syndrome has been the subject of numerous reports, and recent investigations have addressed the question of whether the mental retardation is amenable to treatment with folic acid.
Monozygous twin 14 year old mentally retarded boys with the fragile X syndrome were treated either with 10 mg folic acid P.o. daily or with placebo for three test periods of three month duration in a blind study. For each twin, tests of cognitive functioning, reading, spelling and mathematic skills, and linguistic and perceptual skills were compared. Although there was considerable variation in performance on these tests during the two baseline periods, there were no observable beneficial effects of therapy. The routine use of folic acid in patients with established mental retardation and the fragile X syndrome is not indicated.
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Rosenblatt, D., Zeesman, S., Vekemans, M. et al. 854 FOLIC ACIO BLINDED TRIAL IN IDENTICAL TWINS WITH FRAGILE X SYNDROME. Pediatr Res 19, 253 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00884
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00884