title: Relationship between plasma homocysteine levels and saphenous vein graft disease after coronary artery bypass grafts.
abstract: The long-term efficacy of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is limited by saphenous vein graft (SVG) disease. Elevated levels of plasma homocysteine are a known independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, its influence on the patency of SVG is unknown. To determine whether plasma homocysteine levels are related to SVG disease after CABG we measured homocysteine levels in 80 patients who underwent CABG (age: 64+/-8, interval after bypass surgery: 6.4+/-3.1, range: 1-13 years). The patients were divided into a vein graft disease group (more than 50% angiographical stenosis in any vein graft, n=40) and a no-vein graft disease group (<50% stenosis in any vein graft, n=40). The presence of a mutation in the 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene was also determined by polymerase chain reaction. Homocysteine levels in the vein graft disease group were significantly higher than in the no-vein graft disease group (11.2 vs. 9.1 micromol/l, p=0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that the interval after CABG was an independent factor for SVG disease (odds ratio: 1.014, 95% confidence intervals: 1.003-1.025, p=0.013) and elevated levels of homocysteine tended to be an independent factor for SVG disease (odds ratio: 1.098, 95% confidence intervals: 0.994-1.213, p=0.067). There was no significant difference in MTHFR genotypes between the two groups. These findings indicate that elevated levels of plasma homocysteine are related to SVG disease after CABG.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Juntendo University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwama
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mokuno
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yokoi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Daida
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hosoda
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D005260:Female; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2); D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D000587:Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-NH Group Donors / Q000235:genetics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000637:transplantation*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D006710:Homocysteine; D000587:Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-NH Group Donors; D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2)