The relationship between plasma homocysteine and carotid atherosclerosis in elderly patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective To investigate the relationship between plasma homocysteine(Hcy) and carotid atherosclerosis in elderly patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods The plasma level of Hcy,the serum level of interleukin-8(IL-8),VitB12,folic acid and the carotid intima-media thickness(IMT) were measured in 92 elderly patients with newly diagnosed T2DM and 48 normal elderly.Based on IMT,the DM patients were divided into three groups:IMT normal group,IMT thickened group and plaque group.Results Compared with normal elderly,the DM patients generally had higher plasma levels of Hcy.Among T2DM patients,the plasma levels of Hcy in IMT thickened group were higher than those in IMT normal group(P0.05);those in plaque group were also higher than those in IMT thickened group(P0.05).Among plaque groups,the plasma levels of Hcy in patients with unstable plaques were higher than those in patients with stable plaques(P0.05).The plasma level of Hcy was positively correlated with IL-8 and negatively correlated with VitB12 and folic acid.Conclusions Hcy is one of the important risk factors for the carotid atherosclerosis in elderly patients with newly diagnosed T2DM and possibly takes part in the development of atherosclerosis through IL-8.The plasma levels of Hcy are related with the extent of atherosclerosis and plaque stability.