Hyperhomocysteinemia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is widely reported and appears to worsen as the disease progresses. While active dietary intervention with vitamins B12 and folate decreases homocysteine blood levels, with promising clinical outcomes in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), this so far has not been replicated in established AD populations. The aim of the study is to explore the relationship between hyperhomocystenemia and relevant vitamins as the disease progresses.
In this longitudinal cohort study, 38 participants with mild to moderate AD were followed for an average period of 13months. Plasma folate, vitamin B12 and homocysteine concentrations were measured at baseline and at follow-up. Dietary intake of B vitamins was also measured. Spearman's correlations were conducted by homocysteine and B vitamin status.
As expected, cognitive status significantly declined over the follow-up period and this was paralleled by a significant increase in homocysteine concentrations (p=0.006). However, during this follow-up period there was no significant decline in neither dietary intake, nor the corresponding blood concentrations of vitamin B12/folate, with both remaining within normal values. Changes in blood concentrations of B vitamins were not associated with changes in homocysteine levels (p>0.05).
In this study, the increase in homocysteine observed in AD patients as the disease progresses cannot be solely explained by dietary and blood levels of folate and vitamin B12. Other dietary and non-dietary factors may contribute to hyperhomocysteinemia and its toxic effect in AD, which needs to be explored to optimise timely intervention strategies.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
6
6%
Other
18
17%
Unknown
38
36%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 23 July 2024.
All research outputs
#10,435,300
of 34,172,402 outputs
Outputs from Experimental Gerontology
#1,483
of 3,378 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#120,464
of 363,359 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Experimental Gerontology
#22
of 56 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,172,402 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 69th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,378 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 11.8. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 55% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 56 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 60% of its contemporaries.
