Relationship between plasma homocysteine levels and brain atrophy in healthy elderly individuals

The authors examined the association of total plasma homocysteine (Hey) levels with measures of atrophy and white matter disease on MRI scans in 36 healthy elderly individuals. Hey had a significant positive relationship with lateral ventricle-brain ratios in the anterior (r = 0.49) and middle (r = 0.43) ventricular regions as measures of central atrophy, but not with cortical atrophy or white matter hyperintensities. In a logistic regression analysis, elevated Hey was a significant determinant of increased anterior ventricle-brain ratio (greater than or equal to0.34) after controlling for age, folate, 1312, creatinine, and white matter disease (OR = 2.3; CI, 1.03-5.09).