Total-Homocysteine Enzymatic Assay, Yuying Tan, Li

McCully (1) in 1969 first observed that plasma hyperho-mocysteinemia was involved in the pathogenesis of arte-riosclerosis. More studies have reported that total serum or plasma homocysteine (tHCY) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, including arteriosclero-sis, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and myocardial infarction (2–7). Furthermore, plasma tHCY is a strong predictor of mortality in patients with existing coronary artery disease (8). A major basis for hyperhomocysteinemia is insufficient intake of vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid, which are necessary for homocysteine metabolism and which lower the risk for homocysteine-associated diseases (9–11). Ho-mocystinuria can result from inborn errors, such as defi-ciencies in the enzymes cystathionine b-synthase, me