Relationship between plasma homocysteine level and stroke

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Hyperhomocysteinemia has been suggested to be a possible independent risk factor for stroke.

To explore the relationship between hyperhomocysteinemia and cerebral infarction and hemorrhage, and analyze the factors that affect plasma homocysteine level.

Department of Neurology, Second Hospital Affiliated to Medical College of Zhejiang University.

Totally 57 patients including 21 with cerebral hemorthage and 36 with brain infarction were treated in the Department of Neurology, Second Hospital Affiliated to Medical College of Zhejiang University Between January and November 2003. Twenty-eight healthy volunteers were also recruited from the subjects coming for routine physical examination.

Two milliliters of fasting venous blood was collected from all subjects in the morning for detecting the contents of plasma homocysteine,vitamin B12, folic acid, creatinine and so on. All patients were scored for clinical neurological impairment, with the hematoma volume calculated in patients with brain hemorrhage determined on the basis of CT scanning.acid, vitamin B12, clinical neurological impairment score and hematoma volume.

Valid results were obtained from all the 57 stroke patients and in male and female patients of both cerebral infarction group and cerebral hemorrhage group than that of the subjects of the same gender in the control group [(25.2±21.4), (18.3±10.9), (11.5±2.9) μmol/L for male subjects;(22.8±18.9), (14.7±7.4), (10.8±2.6) μmol/L for female subjects, P＜ 0.05-0.01].The level of homocysteine was similar between cerebral infarction group and cerebral hemorrhage group, homocysteic acid level showed obvious inverse correlation with folic acid level (r=-0.442, -0.531, P ＜ 0.05), but without relation to vitamin B12 level (r=-0.086, -0.111, P ＞ 0.05). Homocysteine level was not obviously correlated to the neurological impairment scores in cerebral infarction group (r=-0.139, P ＞ 0.05), nor was it related to the scores or hematoma volume in cerebral hemorrhage group (r=0.225,0.425, P ＞ 0.05).

Hyperhomocysteinemia is risk factor for cerebral infarction and hemorrhage. Plasma homocysteine level is inversely correlated with folic acid level, but not obviously related to vitamin B12, clinical neurologicla impairment score or hematoma volume.