Homocysteine and neurodegenerative diseases:
Human studies suggest that homocysteine (Hcy), an amino acid, plays a role in brain damage, cognitive decline and is a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and stroke. Numerous studies in recent years investigated the role of Hcy as a cause of brain damage. A meta-analysis of 8 randomized treatment trials (n=37,485) looked at the link between B-vitamins (folic acid, vitamin B6 and/or B12) and risk of stroke, cancer, and vascular diseases found a non-significant decrease in the risk of stroke from B-vitamins. According to the authors, in studies of folic acid and stroke risk, folic acid was found to have a slight benefit, but the results were not significant. Results were better when folic acid was tested in combination with other vitamins (B6 and B12) (12).