Title: Relationship between plasma homocysteine and carotid atherosclerotic plaques in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease
Abstract: Objective To investigate the relationship between plasma homocysteine(Hcy) level and carotid atherosclerotic(CAS) plaques in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease.Methods A total of 327 patients with first-ever ischemic stroke admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University from February 2009 to August 2011 were collected,264 of them were cerebral infarction and 63 were TIA of internal carotid artery system.Color Doppler ultrasound of carotid artery was used to detect the carotid artery intima-media thickness(IMT),intimal morphology and flow spectrum.The degree of CAS in patients was assessed comprehensively.The patients were divided into three groups: The normal IMT group,the IMT thickening group and the plaque formation groups.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the fasting plasma Hcy level in the morning.The relationship between the plasma Hcy levels and the carotid atherosclerotic plaques were analyzed.Results ①Of the 327 patients,99 were normal IMT,40 were IMT thickening,and 188 were atherosclerotic plaque formation.Of the 188 patients with atherosclerotic plaque formation,82 were in the vulnerable plaque group and 106 were in the non-vulnerable plaque group.②The plasma Hcy levels(median) in the normal IMT,IMT thickening and plaque formation groups were 13.6,22.3 and 28.6 μmmol/L,respectively.The incidences of hyperhomocysteinemia(HHcy) were 40.4%(40/99),70.0%(28/40) and 75.5%(142/188),respectively.Except there was no significant difference in the incidence of HHcy between the IMT thickening group and the plaque formation group,there were significant differences in the outcome measures among the 3 groups(all P0.05).③The incidences of plasma Hcy level and HHcy in the vulnerable plaque group were 28.9 μmol/L and 82.9% respectively,and they were significantly higher than 23.4 μmol/L and 69.8% in the non-vulnerable plaque group.There were significant differences(all P0.05).④ Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the increased Hcy level was an independent risk factor for carotid atherosclerotic plaque formation(OR=1.14,95% CI: 1.04-1.25).Conclusion With the increased plasma Hcy levels,the severity of carotid artery atherosclerosis is also increased.HHcy is an independent risk factor for carotid atherosclerotic plaque formation.
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 2
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot