Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: DrugBank:EXPT03052 (THF)
 8,150 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Deficiency of either folic acid or vitamin B12 may interfere with DNA synthesis and result in megaloblastic anemia or other conditions. These 2 vitamins have dissimilar molecular structures and are present in different foods; they are also absorbed and metabolized differently. In 201 consecutive cases of megaloblastic anemia, for 90% the cause was alcoholism and poor diet; 0.5% (1 case) was related to oral contraceptives (OCs). Megaloblastic anemia due to folate deficiency has occasionally been reported in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and has been attributed to poor diet, impaired absorption, and increased tissue utilization of folate. Sulfasalazine, a compound containing a sulfa drug and a salicylate that is broken down to its active components by the gut flora, is widely used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and has been shown to impair the absorption of folic acid, polyglutamyl folate, and methyl-tetrahydrofolic acid in patients with these disorders. There is also evidence suggesting an interaction between anticonvulsant drugs and folate balance. A number of cases of megaloblastic anemia due to folate deficiency have been reported in women taking OCs. While in some cases no apparent cause for the megaloblastic anemia other than contraceptive therapy was demonstrated, in many patients other underlying disorders that were likely to disturb folate balance such as celiac disease, decreased dietary vitamin intake, and the administration of other drugs known to affect folate status have also been present. There is no convincing evidence that sex steroids affect folate absorption; about 20% of women taking OCs were found to have mild megaloblastic changes on Papanicolaou smears. These changes disappered after folic acid therapy, suggesting that OCs may cause an increased demand for folate limited to the reproductive system. Another finding is of low serum cobalamin levels in women using OCs; this appears however to be a laboratory abnormality of uncertain cause and of no clinical significance.
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PMID:Drugs and vitamin B12 and folate metabolism. 613 2