Thursday, May 09, 2013

High homocysteine and low folate, B-12 linked to AMD

Researchers wanted to clarify inconsitent evidence of a relation between serum total homocysteine (tHcy), vitamin B-12, and folate and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In the May issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers investigated associations between intakes and serum concentrations of folate and vitamin B-12 or serum tHcy and 10 year AMD incidence. 

They found that increases in serum tHcy were associated with increased risk of incident early and any AMD. Participants with a serum vitamin B-12 and folate deficiency were particularly susceptible. According to the researchers, elevated serum tHcy and folate and vitamin B-12 deficiencies predicted increased risk of incident AMD, which suggests a potential role for vitamin B-12 and folate in reducing AMD risk.

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