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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Boosting levels of vitamin B3 (niacin [wikipedia.org]) in the diets of pregnant women may lower rates of birth defects [bbc.com]:

Taking Vitamin B3 could prevent miscarriages and birth defects, a study on mice suggests. Researchers from the Victor Chang Institute in Sydney called it "a double breakthrough", as they found both a cause and a preventative solution. With 7.9 million babies born each year with a birth defect worldwide, the team hopes the benefits are wide-reaching. But an expert said the findings "cannot be translated into recommendations" for pregnancy.

[...] Dr Katie Morris, an expert in maternal foetal medicine at the University of Birmingham, said: "While exciting, this discovery cannot be translated into recommendations for pregnant women, who at most may be deficient in vitamin B3. "The doses used in this research were 10 times the recommended daily doses for supplementation in women." She said the side-effects of this high dosage are not known, with pregnancy complications often occurring because of the complex interaction of a number of factors.

Also at Science Magazine [sciencemag.org].

NAD Deficiency, Congenital Malformations, and Niacin Supplementation [nejm.org] (DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1616361) (DX [doi.org])

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