REFERENCES tion products correlated with markers of immune activation [1]. 5,6,7,8-Tetrahydrofolic acid, the biologically ac1. Galland R, Traeger J, Arkouche W, et al: Short daily hemodialysis tive cofactor, is very susceptible to oxidation, which may rapidly improves nutritional status in hemodialysis patients. Kidney Int 60:1555–1560, 2001 become relevant under oxidative stress conditions. Im...

Homocysteine is a sulfur amino acid whose metabolism stands at the intersection of two pathways: remethylation to methionine, which requires folate and vitamin B12 (or betaine in an alternative reaction); and transsulfuration to cystathionine, which requires pyridoxal-5'-phosphate. The two pathways are coordinated by S-adenosylmethionine, which acts as an allosteric inhibitor of the methylenete...

OBJECTIVE To assess serum homocysteine levels and its association with conventional risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Indian adolescents. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study conducted in tertiary care hospital in northern India in apparently healthy adolescents aged 10-19 yr. A pre-designed questionnaire was used to assess conventional risk factors. Serum homocysteine leve...

High plasma levels of homocysteine, termed hyperhomocysteinemia, are a risk factor for vascular cognitive impairment and dementia, which is the second leading cause of dementia. While hyperhomocysteinemia induces microhemorrhages and cognitive decline in mice, the specific effect of hyperhomocysteinemia on each cell type remains unknown. We took separate cultures of astrocytes, microglia, endot...

BACKGROUND Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent, graded risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). The G894T variant of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) was postulated to be associated with hyperhomocysteinemia and could influence individual susceptibility to CAD. The aims of this study were to investigate (a) the relationship of the eNOS G894T polymorphism with the presence and t...

Hyperhomocysteinemia results from hepatic metabolism dysfunction and is characterized by a high plasma homocysteine level, which is also an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Elevated levels of homocysteine in plasma lead to hepatic lesions and abnormal lipid metabolism. Therefore, lowering homocysteine levels might offer therapeutic benefits. Recently, we were able to lower pl...

Many studies have shown that hyperhomocysteinemia may be an independent risk factor for thromboembolic disease. However, the results among studies and populations have not been consistent. Furthermore, the possible mechanisms of hyperhomocysteinemia in vascular diseases are controversial. Mutations in the MTHFR (5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) gene, resulting in rising levels of plasm...

Hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with ischemic cardiovascular disease (ICD) and venous thromboembolism (VTE). We tested the hypothesis that methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T homozygosity with hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with ICD and VTE. First, 9238 randomly selected whites from the general population were followed for 23 years. Second, 2125 whites with ischemic heart d...