Lack of association between total serum homocysteine and extracranial cerebral flow

Abstract

Background/purpose: High homocysteine (Hcy) concentration is associated with slow coronary flow. This study examined the association between Hcy and hemodynamic status in the extracranial cerebral arteries in healthy individuals.

Methods: A total of 535 healthy adults underwent physical examination and duplex ultrasonography of the extracranial carotid and vertebral arteries, and blood laboratory tests, including biochemistry and serum total Hcy. Flow hemodynamic parameters including velocity, resistance, and volume of the carotid and vertebral arteries were measured. Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the association between Hcy and the flow parameters.

Results: Participants with higher Hcy were more likely to have a lower systolic velocity of the internal carotid artery (p = 0.01) and vertebral artery (p < 0.001), and lower resistance of the vertebral artery (p = 0.004). However, the multiple-adjusted means of the flow velocity, resistance, and flow volume of the carotid or vertebral artery were not significantly different across quartiles of Hcy. When Hcy was treated as a continuous variable, there was still no significant relationship between Hcy levels and the aforementioned hemodynamic status.

Conclusion: Our results did not support the hypothesis that the levels of Hcy are associated with the flow velocity, resistance, and volume of the extracranial cerebral artery in healthy individuals.