HDHL EpiBrain: Epigenetic effects of B-vitamins on brain health throughout life

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What's already known in this research area: Folic acid and closely related vitamins (vitamin B12, vitamins B6 and riboflavin) are critical for brain health throughout life. Low intakes of these nutrients may impact adversely on brain development in early life and brain function in later life. In early life, folic acid supplements are recommended for women who are trying to become pregnant and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in order to reduce the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) including spina bifida. Apart from preventing NTDs, however, folic acid intake of mums during pregnancy appears to be associated with better cognitive performance in the child, but this aspect is still under investigation by scientists worldwide. The link between nutritional factors such as folic acid in mums during pregnancy and brain health in the child may be explained by 'Epigenetics'. This is the study of processes (such as DNA methylation) that alter our genes by switching them on and off, and we now know that diet can have a major influence on these genetic processes. These changes to our genes happen throughout the lifecycle, from the time of conception, through pregnancy, childhood, middle age and old age. What EpiBrain will address: In order to support health improvement strategies, both for mothers during pregnancy and their babies on one hand, and for adults as they age on the other, we need a better understanding of how folic acid and related B vitamins influence specific genes related to brain development in the child and cognitive function in older adults. This is the overall purpose of the EpiBrain project. How this will be achieved: The EpiBrain project will bring together research teams from the UK Canada and Spain who have strong expertise in nutrition and epigenetics and a track record of working successfully together. Our work will use 'epigenome-wide association studies' or EWAS, an approach that involves rapidly scanning complete sets of DNA to find epigenetic marks linked with health. This approach is necessary to more fully explore the biological basis explaining the impacts of maternal folic acid supplementation in pregnancy on brain development in the child, and interventions with B vitamins to improve cognitive function in later life. We will conduct new epigenetics analysis on stored samples from studies previously conducted by our research teams in pregnancy and older age. Dietary, nutritional and epigenetic data will be linked with cognitive function measurements in children and older adults. Brain function assessment will also include neuroimaging data using state-of-art magnetoencephalography (MEG) conducted in early and late life on our study participants, providing a direct measure of brain activity. Why the results of the EpiBrain project are important: The EpiBrain project will lead to improved understanding of the role of folic acid and other B vitamins, their epigenetic effects and brain function in childhood and older age, with expected results anticipated to provide scientific substantiation to support nutritional strategies for sustaining better brain health through the lifespan. This project is very timely because of potential imminent changes in fortification and supplementation policies. The implementation of mandatory food fortification for NTD prevention is currently being debated at national levels in the UK and Ireland, while the team in Canada is working on challenges and solutions for the generating guidelines in relation to the amount of folic acid to incorporate into folic acid supplements for pregnant women. The EpiBrain project provides a unique opportunity for a truly transnational collaboration to study the potential effects of folic acid (that may be mediated by Epigenetics) on brain health throughout the lifecycle.