Nutritional anemias.

Folate, vitamin B12, and iron are the subjects of active biochemical and molecular research so that further understanding of their metabolism in health and in a wide variety of Inherited and acquired diseases can be achieved. The roles of folate and vitamin B12 in cardiovascular and neurologic diseases and in neural tube defects (NTDs) will be further explored in the next decade. The effects of prophylactic therapy and of food fortification with the vitamins on these diseases remain to be established. Iron deficiency is a public health problem in all countries and prevention or treatment, particularly in children in developing countries, are major goals. The increased recent understanding of iron metabolism and absorption may clarify the etiology of diseases of iron metabolism and of dietary iron overload. Improved iron chelation therapy for transfusion-dependent patients with refractory anemias will continue to be actively researched over the next decades.