title: Methods for homocysteine analysis and biological relevance of the results.
abstract: It is now widely accepted that increased total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Hyperhomocysteinemia can be caused by impaired enzyme function as a result of genetic mutation or vitamin B (B(2), B(6), B(9), B(12)) deficiency. A lot of methods are now available for tHcy determination. High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection are at present the most widely used methods but immunoassays, easier to use, begin to supplant in-house laboratory methods. In order to help with the choice of a main relevant homocysteine analytical method, the characteristics, performances and limits of the main current methods are reviewed. One major drawback among all these available methods is the transferability which is not clearly established to date. The impact of both inter-method and inter-laboratory variations on the interpretation of the tHcy results are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Département de Biologie Intégrée, CHU Grenoble, BP 217, 38043 Grenoble, France. vducros@chu-grenoble.fr
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ducros
authors.forename: Karine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Demuth
authors.forename: Marie-Pierre
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Sauvant
authors.forename: Muriel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Quillard
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Caussé
authors.forename: Mirande
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Candito
authors.forename: Marie-Hélène
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Read
authors.forename: Jocelyne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Drai
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Marie-Françoise
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Gerhardt
mesh_terms: D002845:Chromatography / Q000379:methods; D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D013048:Specimen Handling
chemical_list: D006710:Homocysteine