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Homocysteine and cognitive impairment. Relation with diagnosis and neuropsychological performance

Isabel Sala1, María Belén Sánchez-Saudinós, Laura Molina-Porcel

  • 1Memory Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.

Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders
|November 22, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Elevated total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) did not differentiate dementia diagnoses. However, higher tHcy levels were linked to poorer performance in visual-spatial tasks, suggesting a negative impact on visuoconstructional abilities.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Biochemistry
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Elevated total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
  • tHcy has been proposed as a potential risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD).
  • The precise relationship between tHcy levels and cognitive impairment remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between tHcy levels and clinical diagnoses of cognitive impairment.
  • To determine the relationship between tHcy levels and cognitive performance in outpatients with cognitive decline.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed plasma tHcy, folate, vitamin B12, and creatinine levels in outpatients.
  • Included diagnostic groups: subjective memory complaints (SMC), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and vascular dementia (VD).
  • Conducted comprehensive neuropsychological testing covering attention, memory, language, executive functions, and daily living activities.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in tHcy levels were observed across diagnostic groups (SMC, MCI, AD, VD).
  • Increased tHcy levels correlated with diminished performance on the geometric figure copy and clock drawing tests.
  • Elevated tHcy did not distinguish between different diagnostic categories of cognitive impairment.

Conclusions:

  • tHcy levels are not effective in discriminating between diagnostic groups of cognitive impairment.
  • Elevated tHcy levels in patients with cognitive impairment appear to negatively impact visuoconstructional performance.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate the role of tHcy in the progression of cognitive decline.
Abstract

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