Homocysteine Metabolism: From Basic Science to Clinical Medicine / Edition 1

by Ian Graham, Helga Refsum, Irwin H. Rosenberg, Per Magne Ueland

Overview

This volume is the first comprehensive treatise on homocysteine to treat the topic from the basic biochemical, metabolic, genetic, and dietary determinants to disease relationships, including concepts of pathogenesis. In addition, the public health implications of these associations are described. To date, evidence strongly supports the hypotheses that Hyperhomocysteinemia is a strong independent determinant of vascular disease and Many cases of hyperhomocysteinemia are amenable to homocysteine-lowering treatment with B-vitamins.£/LIST£ The strength of this evidence is prompting discussion of large-scale homocysteine-lowering interventions. Against this background of growing recognition of the importance of homocysteine as a factor in coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease, the editors conceived of a state-of-the-art monograph on homocysteine and its relationships to disease. The contributors would be those scientists who, in fact, had written the history of this field of study over the past third of a century. The editors invited the leading investigators in the world to contribute chapters in their own areas of expertise to this monograph and to deliver those papers at the first International Meeting on Homocysteine in Ireland, which has emerged as an important study center and where the first cases of homocystinuria were reported more than three decades ago.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780792399834
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	12/31/1997
Series:	Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine , #196
Edition description:	1997
Pages:	279
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

Graham, Ian, MD (Trinity Coll, Dublin); Refsum, Helga, MD (Univ of Bergen); Rosenberg, Irwin H., MD (Tufts Univ); Ueland, Per Magne, MD (Univ of Bergen)

Table of Contents

I. Biochemistry And Genetic Studies.- 1. The Regulation of Homocysteine Metabolism.- 2. Methionine Kinetics and Balance.- 3. On the Formation and Fate of Total Plasma Homocysteine.- 4. Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase: Comparison of the Enzyme from Mammalian and Bacterial Sources.- 5. Genetics of Mammalian 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase.- 6. Thermolabile Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase.- 7. The Long-term Outcome in Homocystinuria.- 8. Characterization of the Human and Porcine Methionine Synthases and their Redox Partners.- 9. Inherited Disorders of Folate and Cobalamin.- 10. Molecular Genetics of Cystathionine—-Synthase in Homocystinuria and Vascular Disease.- 11. Cystathionine—-synthase Deficiency: Metabolic Aspects.- II. Vitamins, Pathology, And Drug Therapy.- 12. Homocysteine and Other Metabolites in the Diagnosis and Follow-up of Cobalamin and Folate Deficencies.- 13. Vitamin Status and Hyperhomocysteinemia in a Healthy Population.- 14. Association Between Plasma Homocysteine, Vitamin Status, and Extracranial Carotid-Artery Stenosis in the Framingham Study Population.- 15. Treatment of Mild Hyperhomocysteinemia.- 16. Folate, Vitamin B12, and Neuropsychiatric Disorders.- 17. Vitamins, Homocysteine, and Neural-Tube Defects.- 18. The Etiology of Neural Tube Defects.- 19. Plasma Homocysteine in Renal Failure, Diabetes Mellitus, and Alcoholism.- 20. Homocysteine and Drug Therapy.- III. Homocysteine, Cancer, And Cardiovascular Disease.- 21. Is Methionine Useful for the Prevention of Hyperhomocysteinemia-Associated Cardiovascular Disease?.- 22. Synthesis of Homocysteine Thiolactone in Normal and Malignant Cells.- 23. Folate Status: Modulation of Colorectal Carcinogenesis.- 24. The Hordaland Homocysteine Study: Lifestyle and Total Plasma Homocysteine inWestern Norway.- 25. Blood Homocysteine Levels in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) in the United States: Preliminary Findings by Age and Sex.- 26. Heritability of Plasma Homocysteine Concentration.- 27. Plasma Homocysteine and Coronary Artery Disease.- 28. Homocysteine and Cerebral and Peripheral Vascular Disease.- 29. Plasma Homocysteine and its Relationship to Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Japanese Population.- 30. Biological Chemistry of Thiols in the Vasculature and in Vascular-Related Disease.- IV. Intervention Studies and Concepts for the Future.- 31. Homocysteine and Vascular Disease: The European Concerted Action Project.- 32. Prospective Studies of Homocysteine and Vascular Disaese.- 33. A Meta-Analysis of Plasma Homocysteine as a Risk Factor for Arteriosclerotic Vascular Disease and the Potential Preventive Role of Folic Acid.- 34. Pathology of Homocystinuria.- 35. Lipoprotein(a), Homocysteine, and Atherogenesis.- 36. Endothelial- and Leukocyte-Mediated Mechanisms in Homocysteine-Associated Occlusive Vascular Disease.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Kevin Cochran, MD (Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine)
Description: This is a compilation of works on the basic science of homocysteine to clinical associations with disease. The book consists of material initially presented at the First International Meeting on Homocysteine held in July, 1995 in Ireland.
Purpose: The purpose is to establish an understanding of the metabolism and regulation of homocysteine and how it relates to clinical practice.
Audience: This multiauthored text (112 international authors) is directed towards physicians in research and clinical practice.
Features: The book starts out with a review of the biochemistry and genetic studies of homocysteine. The contributors then progress through discussions of regulation of metabolism, enzymatic characteristics, vitamins and drug therapy, clinical expression of disease (neural tube defects, cancer, cardiovascular disease), and, finally, interventional studies and concepts for the future. Each chapter has an introduction and summary that are very helpful in facilitating discussion and emphasizing key points. The chapters are short and concise, but still incorporate a large volume of information. The authors had to limit references due to space. Some of the early chapters on the basic science of homocysteine become a little complex, particularly for someone unfamiliar with the subject.
Assessment: This book is a good resource for information on homocysteine. It is well organized with short and concise chapters that have lots of diagrams, figures, and tables. It reviews the past history of work on the subject, then recent research, and ends with a discussion of further research needed. It is well suited for professionals in the field of cardiology and for those who are basic science researchers wishing a connection with clinical application.

Doody's Review Service

3 Stars from Doody

This is a compilation of works on the basic science of homocysteine to clinical associations with disease. The book consists of material initially presented at the First International Meeting on Homocysteine held in July, 1995 in Ireland. The purpose is to establish an understanding of the metabolism and regulation of homocysteine and how it relates to clinical practice. This multiauthored text (112 international authors) is directed towards physicians in research and clinical practice. The book starts out with a review of the biochemistry and genetic studies of homocysteine. The contributors then progress through discussions of regulation of metabolism, enzymatic characteristics, vitamins and drug therapy, clinical expression of disease (neural tube defects, cancer, cardiovascular disease), and, finally, interventional studies and concepts for the future. Each chapter has an introduction and summary that are very helpful in facilitating discussion and emphasizing key points. The chapters are short and concise, but still incorporate a large volume of information. The authors had to limit references due to space. Some of the early chapters on the basic science of homocysteine become a little complex, particularly for someone unfamiliar with the subject. This book is a good resource for information on homocysteine. It is well organized with short and concise chapters that have lots of diagrams, figures, and tables. It reviews the past history of work on the subject, then recent research, and ends with a discussion of further research needed. It is well suited for professionals in the field of cardiology and for those who are basic science researchers wishing a connection withclinical application.

Kevin Cochran

‘This book is a good resource for information on homocysteine. It is well organised with short and concise chapters that have lots of diagrams, figures and tables......It is well suited for professionals in the field of cardiology and for those who are basic science researchers wishing a connection with clinical applications.'
K. Cochan, M.D., Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine

From the Publisher