Concentrations of Plasma Methylmalonic Acid in 80-Year-Olds Show Only Weak Relation to Psychological Performance
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Björn Hultberg
Abstract
Most studies of the relation between psychological performance in the elderly and deficiencies of cobalamin and folate have used methods that determine the blood concentrations of these vitamins, which might not reflect the vitamin status in the tissues. Recently, two new markers, plasma homocysteine and methylmalonic acid, have attracted growing interest since they are considered to reflect the status of cobalamins and folates in the tissues. In a previous study, we noted a strong association between five parameters of well-being and lower concentrations of plasma homocysteine. In the present study, we have extended these observations by determination of plasma methylmalonic acid in the same healthy elderly population. In the present study, 18 out of 100 subjects had increased plasma methylmalonic acid and in 7 of these subjects, the concentrations of serum cobalamin, blood folate, plasma homocysteine and serum creatinine were within normal limits. The relation between plasma methylmalonic acid concentrations and concentrations of serum cobalamin and blood folates and five parameters of well-being were investigated. Concentrations of plasma methylmalonic acid were only weakly associated with the concentrations of serum cobalamin and lower scores on the logical reasoning test. The present study clearly shows that the levels of plasma methylmalonic acid show a much lesser association with the parameters of well-being than did plasma homocysteine.
Copyright © 1999 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG
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- Laboratory Variables as Additional Staging Parameters in Patients with Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma. A Systematic Review
- High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) and the Oxidative Hypothesis of Atherosclerosis
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- Stem Cell Factor and Granulocyte-Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor as Candidates for Tumour Markers for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer
- Concentrations of Plasma Methylmalonic Acid in 80-Year-Olds Show Only Weak Relation to Psychological Performance
- The Risk Groups for Coronary Heart Disease in Koreans. Assessment by Distribution of Serum Lipid Concentrations
- Serum Proteins by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis: Approaches to the Definition of Reference Values
- Efficiency of Some In Vitro Allergy Tests for Evaluating Atopy in Children and Adults
- Pre-metrological (Pre-analytical) Variation of Some Biochemical Quantities
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- HDL Phospholipid: a Natural Inhibitor of Alzheimer’s Amyloid β-Fibrillogenesis?
- Bailey & Scott’s Diagnostic Microbiology, 10th edition, by B. A. Forbes, D. F. Sahm and A. S. Weissfeld
- Physical Chemistry for the Biomedical Sciences, by S.R. Logan
