In this issue.

摘要

The associations between variations in the leptin receptor gene (LEPR) and spina bifida suggest a possible mechanism for previous findings that obesity is a neural tube defect (NTD) risk factor, report Carter et al (p. 14). Since previous studies of the genetics of NTDs have involved only small numbers of genes, the researchers evaluated 64 potentially associated variations in folate-related and non-folate-related genes reported by others in a larger cohort. The study, examined 34 genes for association with spina bifida in up to 558 case families and 994 controls in Ireland.