Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Does homocysteine cause hypertension?

Coen D A Stehouwer1, Coen van Guldener

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. cda.stehouwer@vumc.nl

Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
|December 6, 2003
PubMed
Summary

High homocysteine levels correlate with increased blood pressure, particularly systolic pressure. While homocysteine-lowering therapies show promise, the causal link requires further investigation in ongoing studies.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Drug utilization in the Maastricht Study: A comparison with nationwide data.

Medicine·2020
Same author

Glucose Variability Assessed with Continuous Glucose Monitoring: Reliability, Reference Values, and Correlations with Established Glycemic Indices-The Maastricht Study.

Diabetes technology & therapeutics·2019
Same author

Corrigendum to: Cohort Profile: The Hoorn Studies.

International journal of epidemiology·2019
Same author

Adverse differences in cardiometabolic risk factor levels between individuals with pre-diabetes and normal glucose metabolism are more pronounced in women than in men: the Maastricht Study.

BMJ open diabetes research & care·2019
Same author

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol efflux capacity is not associated with atherosclerosis and prevalence of cardiovascular outcome: The CODAM study.

Journal of clinical lipidology·2019
Same author

Microvascular Dysfunction Is Associated With Worse Cognitive Performance: The Maastricht Study.

Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979)·2019

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular epidemiology
  • Nutritional biochemistry

Background:

  • Plasma homocysteine levels are associated with blood pressure in several population-based studies.
  • An increase of 5 micromol/l in plasma homocysteine correlated with a 0.7/0.5 mmHg rise in systolic/diastolic blood pressure in men and 1.2/0.7 mmHg in women, independent of renal function and B vitamin status.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between plasma homocysteine levels and blood pressure.
  • To explore the potential causal relationship and underlying mechanisms linking homocysteine to hypertension.
  • To evaluate the impact of homocysteine-lowering therapies on blood pressure.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of epidemiological data linking plasma homocysteine levels to blood pressure measurements.
  • Review of observational studies on homocysteine-lowering therapies and their effect on blood pressure.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Consideration of proposed biological mechanisms, including arteriolar constriction and renal dysfunction.

    • Main Results:

    • A positive association was observed between plasma homocysteine and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
    • Homocysteine-lowering treatments with folic acid-based regimens have been linked to decreased blood pressure.
    • Mechanisms such as homocysteine-induced arteriolar constriction, renal dysfunction, and increased arterial stiffness are proposed but lack direct human evidence.

    Conclusions:

    • The hypothesis that homocysteine increases blood pressure is currently considered unproven due to potential confounding factors.
    • Further large-scale intervention studies are needed to confirm if homocysteine-lowering vitamins effectively reduce blood pressure and cardiovascular morbidity.
    • The results highlight the need for continued research into the complex relationship between homocysteine, blood pressure, and cardiovascular health.