Altered Levels of Homocysteine and Serum Natural Antioxidants Links Oxidative Damage to Alzheimer's Disease

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Cankurtaran, Mustafa^a | Yesil, Yusuf^a | Kuyumcu, Mehmet Emin^{a; *} | Oztürk, Zeynel Abidin^b | Yavuz, Burcu Balam^a | Halil, Meltem^a | Ulger, Zekeriya^a | Cankurtaran, Eylem Sahin^c | Arıoğul, Servet^a

Affiliations: [a] Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey | [b] Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep University, Sahinbey, Gaziantep, Turkey | [c] Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital, Psychiatry Clinic, Kolej, Ankara, Turkey

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Mehmet Emin Kuyumcu, MD, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Hacettepe University, 06100 Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey. Tel.: +90 312 305 15 38; Fax: +90 312 309 76 20; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: Increasing evidence supports the theory that oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Homocysteine (Hcy), uric acid (UA), bilirubin, and albumin are simple laboratory parameters that are related to oxidative stress. In this study we compared serum Hcy and antioxidant levels in patients with AD and normal cognitive function. In this cross-sectional study, 143 AD patients and 1,553 patients with normal cognitive function aged 65 years and over were enrolled. Mean values of UA and albumin levels of AD patients were significantly lower than normal cognitive function subjects (p: 0.003 versus p < 0.001, respectively). Mean value of Hcy levels of AD patients was significantly higher than normal cognitive function subjects (p = 0.031). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that Mini-nutritional assessment short form (OR: 0.905, 95% CI: 0.850–0.965, p = 0.002), hypertension (OR: 1.573, 95% CI: 1.148–2.155, p = 0.005), UA (OR: 0.879, 95% CI: 0.788–0.981, p = 0.021), Hcy (OR: 1.040, 95% CI: 1.022–1.059, p < 0.001), and albumin (OR: 0.505, 95% CI: 0.339–0.753, p < 0.001) were independent variables predicting the occurrence of AD. Our study supports the hypothesis that a decrease in antioxidants and an increase in oxidative damage are linked to AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, antioxidant, elderly, homocysteine, oxidative stress, uric acid

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2012-121630

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 1051-1058, 2013