Background: It has been recognized that mildly elevated Plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels are common, and they may be associated with thrombovascular disease including coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease (CVD).
Methods: Fluorescent polarization immunoassay (FPIA) using IMX system (Abbott, USA) was used to determine Hcy levels in plasma from 99 healthy subjects and 54 patients with CVD. Statistical analysis using SPSS program was done to compare the mean values of each groups.
Results: There was not no significant difference of Hcy levels between normal and CVD groups with mean values of 10.72 and 9.79 ㎛/L, respectively. The normal upper limit for Hcy was set as 14 ㎛/L by adding 2 SD to the mean from the normal group. Higher incidence of mild hyperhomocysteinemia (>14 ㎛/L) was observed in CVD (20.4%), compared with that in normal group (9.1%).
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that mild hyperhomocysteinemia is frequently observed in cerebrovascular disease, and this study offers modest support for that increased plasma Hcy levels may be an important risk factor for CVD.