Abstract
Clinical significance of plasma homocysteine levels in Japanese patients and its importance in ningen dock were studied. The subjects consisted of 80 Japanese patients who were suspected of having metabolic syndrome. Plasma homocysteine levels were measured by the established kit using an enzymatic assay. The plasma homocysteine level was 11.9±2.9 u mon, and 14 (18%) out of 80 patients were found to have a high plasma homocysteine concentration over 14.0 μmol/L. Significant differences were not observed among patients with high plasma homocysteine levels compared to those with a normal range in terms of age, gender, and atherosclerotic risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, high levels of LDL-cholesterol, low levels of HDL-cholesterol, and high levels of triglycerides. However, atherosclerotic changes of multiple lacunar infarctions and/or asymptomatic cerebral infarctions were detected in 13 patients (93%) with high plasma homocysteine levels by brain MRI. This frequency was significantly (p<0.005) higher than that in patients with a normal range of plasma homocysteine(39%). In addition, serum lipoprotein (a) levels were also associated with atherosclerotic changes by brain MRI. The predictive value of these atherosclerotic changes in plasma homocysteine levels was similar to that in serum lipoprotein (a) levels. The above findings indicate that plasma homocysteine levels can be a new marker of atherosclerotic changes in Japanese patients, and should thus be measured in ningen dock.
