Homocysteine and risk of cerebrovascular lesions: The PRESENT project
- Author:
Hyun Young Park
;
Young Seo Kim
;
Seung-Han Suk
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
White matter changes;
silent brain infarcts;
homocysteine;
elderly;
stroke;
dementia
- From:Neurology Asia
2020;25(3):263-267
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Objective: Cerebral white matter changes (WMCs) and silent brain infarcts (SBIs) are common
radiological findings in neurologically asymptomatic elderly people. Their presence is associated with
an increased risk of stroke or dementia. Homocysteine (Hcy) can cause atherosclerosis and may thus act
as a useful marker of stroke prior to symptom onset. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of Hcy as
a surrogate marker for early intervention for stroke in community-dwelling healthy elderly persons with
cerebrovascular lesions such as WMCs and SBIs. Methods: We assessed the relationship between the
Hcy level and presence of WMCs/SBIs on brain computed tomography (CT) in 554 elderly individuals
aged ≥65 years with no history of stroke or dementia. Results: The mean age of the participants was
74.43±7.32 years. Of the 554 patients, 106 (19.1%) had WMCs and/or SBI findings on brain CT. The
mean Hcy level was higher in participants with WMCs/SBIs (P=0.001). The WMCs/SBIs group had
a significantly greater number of participants with high Hcy levels than the non-WMCs/SBIs group
(P<0.001). High Hcy levels (≥12.3 μmol/L) was significantly associated with WMCs and SBIs even
after adjusting for age, Korean Mini Mental Status Examination score, education level, and vascular
risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and smoking status.
Conclusion: The result of our study suggests that regular monitoring of homocysteine level as a
modifiable risk factor may be helpful for predicting the association of cerebrovascular lesions such
as WMCs and SBIs for the prevention of future ischemic stroke and cognitive impairment.
- Full text:7.2020my0041.pdf
