chemical structure of homocysteine without defined stereochemistry (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Homocysteine (Hcy) is a chemical found in the blood; high Hcy levels (HHcy) are commonly associated with neurodegenerative disease. HHcy is often seen in elderly people and is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, cognitive impairment, and stroke. Also, HHcy is associated with vitamin B deficiency (folate, B12, B6) and is a neurotoxin.
Lowering Hcy levels by vitamin B supplementation is one approach to treating neurodegeneration. Studies have shown that vitamin therapy does reduce Hcy levels, resulting in “a trend” toward lowering strokes.
CONCLUSION: Recent evidence supports the role of Hcy as a marker for neurodegenerative disease. Of importance, lowering Hcy is seen as a treatment for reducing the risk of neurodegenerative disease. Treatment should be given to all people with elevated Hcy levels.
NOTE: Unfortunately, the full article is not available free of charge, so this summary is based on the abstract only.
Homocysteine is a non-protein amino acid produced by humans.
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PMID: 21388339.
Summary #571.
