Total plasma homocysteine and primary open-angle glaucoma.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) levels in patients diagnosed with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and normal subjects.


METHODS
Case-control study.


METHODS
This study involved 55 POAG patients, 16 patients with secondary open-angle glaucoma or angle-closure glaucoma (non-POAG group), and 39 control healthy subjects undergoing ocular surgery. All glaucoma patients had characteristic glaucomatous optic disk damage and visual field loss. Fasting tHcy concentrations of all study participants were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Analysis of variance was used to compare homocysteine levels among the three diagnostic groups, and multivariate analysis was conducted to assess the associations between tHcy and diagnostic group, age, gender, smoking status, systemic hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease.


RESULTS
Mean +/- standard deviation of tHcy levels in POAG individuals, non-POAG patients and control subjects was 14.90 +/- 6.45 micromol/l, 14.30 +/- 4.35 micromol/l, and 14.81 +/- 4.56 micromol/l, respectively (P =.93; ANOVA). No statistically significant difference was found in the proportion of patients with abnormal tHcy levels among the three diagnostic groups. In multivariate analysis, only age and positive smoking status were significantly correlated with total plasma homocysteine levels.


CONCLUSIONS
No significant difference was found in plasma homocysteine levels among POAG patients and normal control individuals.
Wang
Gloria
G
Departments of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California 92093-0946, USA.
Medeiros
Felipe A
FA
Barshop
Bruce A
BA
Weinreb
Robert N
RN
D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000097:blood*; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
D006710:Homocysteine