The Research on High Homocysteine Levels and Carotid Atherosclerosis in Elderly with Acute Cerebral Infarction

Objective: To analyze the relationship between the homocysteine(Hcy)and carotid artery atherosclerosis(CAA)degree on the old acute cerebral infarction.Method: 80 patients with cerebral infarction were selected, plasma Hcy, fasting blood-glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, folate and VitB12 of all subjects were measured; the intima-media thickness(IMT) of artery, patch size, degree of stenosis and blood flow velocity were detected. The patients were divided into A, B, C, D four groups according to the degree of carotid stenosis and IMT values. The Hcy levels and folic acid, VitB12 and other related factors were analyzed. Result:(1) The level of Hcy increased with aggravation of CAA, there were significant differences among A, B, C group and D group(P0.05);(2)the level of VitB12 and folate decreased while Hcy level increased, and only the difference between A and D group was obviously(P0.05);(3) levels of plasma Hcy were negatively correlated with VitBl2 and folic acid levels(r=-0.328,-0.442, P0.05).Conclusion: Hyperhomocysteinemia is an important risk factor for cerebral infarction, plasma homocysteine is graded associated with carotid atherosclerosis.