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Science 7 August 1998:
Vol. 281. no. 5378, pp. 794 - 795
DOI: 10.1126/science.281.5378.794
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Perspectives

Also see the archival list of Science's Compass: Enhanced Perspectives

DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE:
Enhanced: Choline, a Vital Amine

Jan Krzysztof Blusztajn

New evidence indicates that choline, a small vitamin, is essential for optimal brain development. In his Perspective, Blusztajn summarizes recent work that points to choline's newly recognized importance, which has resulted in its reclassification as an essential nutrient by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences.

The author is in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA. E-mail: jbluszta{at}bu.edu

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Gestational Choline Deficiency Causes Global and Igf2 Gene DNA Hypermethylation by Up-regulation of Dnmt1 Expression.
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Enhanced synthesis of choline and glycine betaine in transgenic tobacco plants that overexpress phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase.
S. D. McNeil, M. L. Nuccio, M. J. Ziemak, and A. D. Hanson (2001)
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Protective Effects of Prenatal Choline Supplementation on Seizure-Induced Memory Impairment.
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