ABSTRACT
Objective To study the relationship between the stenosis content of carotid artery and the degree of homocysteine (Hcy) by analyzing the level changes of Hcy in ischemic stroke patients.Methods One hundred and thirty patients of carotid artery stenosis with ischemic stroke were divided into four groups based on the degrees of carotid artery stenosis determined by ultrasound Doppler flow imaging:the slight stenosis group (32patients),the moderate group (35 patients),the severe group (33 patients) and the total occlusion group (30 patients).Meanwhile,30 healthy people were chosen as the control group.The levels of serum homocysteine (Hcy),total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) of each group were measured,and the results were compared with those of the control group.Results It was found that the serum Hcy level in ischemic stroke group were significantly higher than that in the control group (P＜0.05),whereas the variations ofTC,TG,HDL and LDL levels between the ischemic stroke group and the control group could be neglected (P＞0.05).An obviously increased order of serum Hcy levels was observed as the following,the control group,the slight stenosis group,the moderate group,the severe group as well as the total occlusion group.The difference between every two groups was statistically significant (P＜0.05).The level of serum Hcy was positive correlated to the content of carotid artery stenosis (r=0.835,P＜0.05).However,no correlation was found between the carotid artery stenosis and each level of TC,TG and LDL (r=0.031,0.012,0.018,respectively,P＞0.05).Conclusions The serum Hcy level is closely related to the degree of carotid artery stenosis,and high level Hcy is suggested to be one of major risk factors for ischemic stroke.