BACKGROUND Blood homocysteine and its nutritional determinants folate and cyanocobalamin (vitamin B-12) have been shown to affect the risk of vascular disease. The pathogenesis of age-related maculopathy (ARM) is related to adverse vascular changes. OBJECTIVE The objective was to evaluate the associations between homocysteine, its nutritional determinants, and ARM in persons aged >or= 40 y pa...

Homocysteine is a precursor of S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) and a metabolite of S-adenosylhomocysteine (AdoHcy). The ratio of AdoMet to AdoHcy, defined as the methylation potential (MP), indicates the flow of methyl groups within the cells. Chronic elevations of total homocysteine (tHcy) in plasma correlate with increased AdoHcy concentrations, decreased MP, and impaired DNA methylation. Howev...

The prevalence of subclinical deficiencies of folate and vitamin B6 in India is high and preliminary investigation showed higher mean plasma total homocysteine level in Indians compared with the values reported for western populations. The present study was carried out in 40 apparently normal men to examine the relationship between plasma total homocysteine level and folate and vitamin B6 statu...

A rapid and precise immunoassay for quantification of total homocysteine in blood samples is presented. The method avoids the use of radioisotopes and chromatographic separations and relies on enzymatic conversion of homocysteine to S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine, followed by quantification of S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine by an enzyme-linked immunoassay in microtiter format. The within- and between-ass...

Homocysteine levels are associated with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in observational studies. Lead and cadmium are risk factors for PAD that affect thiol metabolism, and they may partly explain the association of homocysteine with PAD. To evaluate the roles of lead and cadmium exposure in confounding the association between homocysteine and PAD, the authors performed a cross-sectional stu...

Homocysteine is associated with atherothrombotic disease, which may be mediated through associations of homocysteine levels with blood pressure, endothelial function, or arterial stiffness. In a placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial, we measured blood pressure, brachial artery endothelium-dependent vasodilation, and common carotid artery stiffness in 158 clinically healthy siblings of p...

Folic acid is generally used to lower homocysteine concentrations and prevent stroke and cardiovascular disease (CVD) at present. However, the efficacy of therapies that lower homocysteine concentrations in reducing the risk of CVD and stroke remains controversial. Our objective was to do a meta-analysis of relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the efficacy of folic acid supp...

BACKGROUND Several studies have examined the association of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) genotype with plasma homocysteine in adults, but few studies have been performed in children. OBJECTIVE We measured the concentrations of plasma total homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B-12 in a group of healthy fasting children and related these to MTHFR genotype. DESIGN After the su...

AIM The principal aim was to establish reference paediatric data for the serum homocysteine levels in Czech children and adolescents. METHODS AND RESULTS 144 children either healthy or not sufferig from acute or chronic inflammation, autoimmune disorders including rheumatic diseases, inflammatory musculoskeletal disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, e...