Elevated levels of plasma homocysteine in postmenopausal women in Burkina Faso
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Rosa Chillemi
Abstract
Background: Low levels of plasma homocysteine have been found in children and adult populations living in Burkina Faso in association with a low prevalence of coronary heart disease. Methods: Based on this finding, the levels of plasma homocysteine and other thiols (cysteine, cysteinylglycine, glutathione) in postmenopausal women living in Burkina Faso were evaluated with the aim of investigating whether age and life conditions influence plasma homocysteine and other thiol levels. Results: It was found that in older postmenopausal women the mean level of homocysteine was higher (16.4±6.6 μmol/L) than in fertile women (6.8±1.2μmol/L) and that thisincrease was correlated with cysteine levels (166.6±44.6μmol/L). While the glutathione level in postmenopausal women was lower (3.6±2.3μmol/L) compared with fertile women (7.0±1.7μmol/L), cysteinylglycine levels were within the normal range (29.9±9.3μmol/L). No correlation was found between homocysteine levels and serum folate, vitamin B 12, vitamin B 6, cystatin C and serum creatinine levels. The older the women were, the higher were their plasma homocysteine levels: levels up to 20.2±9.1μmol/L were found in those >70years old. Conclusions: The elevated levels of homocysteine in the postmenopausal women of Burkina Faso must be viewed as a characteristic of older age and its metabolic consequences.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Inter-individual variation of inflammatory markers of cardiovascular risks and diseases
- “Coelionomics”: towards understanding the molecular pathology of coeliac disease
- Gene expression profiling in human cardiovascular disease
- A common CYP1B1 polymorphism is associated with 2-OHE1/16-OHE1 urinary estrone ratio
- A quantitative RT-PCR method to determine topoisomerase I mRNA levels in human tissue samples
- Insulin sensitivity and counter-regulatory hormones in hypothyroidism and during thyroid hormone replacement therapy
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- Quantitative measurement of ketone bodies in urine using reflectometry
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- Effectiveness of different methods for anti-Sm antibody identification. A multicentre study
- Quality control in neutrophil granulocyte (PMN) concentrates by flow cytometry
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- Allergy testing on the IMMULITE 2000 Random-Access immunoanalyzer – a clinical evaluation study
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