Category Archives: Homocysteine

Make Sure Your Mother Gets Her B12 (Before You Are Born)

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Choline is an important component of phospholipids, functions in lipid metabolism and is also able to form the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Choline can be derived from the diet, but is also synthesised endogenously. The synthesis of choline requires methylation and this … Continue reading →

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Homocysteine and Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Homocysteine is an intermediate metabolite of the methionine to cysteine pathway. Under normal circumstances homocysteine is synthesised back to methionine using the salvage pathway or is further metabolised to cysteine via the enzyme cystathionine beta-synthase. However, these two pathways rely … Continue reading →

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The Betaine Folate Relationship

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Epigenetics is the relatively new science interested in the interaction between the environment and DNA. Environmental changes can influence genetic make-up through stable modification to gene expression not mediated by changes in DNA sequence. This is achieved through methylation of … Continue reading →

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Homocysteine And Colorectal Cancer

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Homocysteine is a product of methionine metabolism in humans. Under conditions of adequate nutrition, this homocysteine is rapidly converted back to methionine or to cysteine through a number of pathways. For this conversion to take place, optimal intakes of folic … Continue reading →

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Vitamin B Insufficiencies In The Elderly

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Robert Barrington

It is often assumed that an ageing person has an inevitable slide into functional disability. Proponents of such an idea can readily find data from the literature showing reductions in muscle mass, deteriorations in cognitive function and increases in blood … Continue reading →

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The B6 Essential Fatty Acid Connection

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Robert Barrington

eficiencies of vitamin B6 are known to increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The mechanisms for this was first described by Kilmer McCully in his seminal paper in the 1960’s, in which he investigated cardiovascular disease risk in young … Continue reading →

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Low Fat Diets: More Confounding Variables

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Robert Barrington

roponents of the cholesterol theory of cardiovascular disease believe that dietary cholesterol and saturated fatty acids are the cause of cardiovascular disease. The mechanism for this we are told is based on the erroneous belief that dietary cholesterol and saturated … Continue reading →

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Folic Acid Supplementation in Intermediate Homocysteinaemia

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Robert Barrington

A high plasma concentration of homocysteine is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and studies have shown that 0.5 to 5 mg of folic acid as a dietary supplement can lower homocysteine by 25%. Cellular S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) is an intermediate … Continue reading →

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B12 and Folate Prevent Cognitive Decline

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Cognitive decline is a common disorder associated with ageing, with a prevalence of between 5 to 30%. Effective strategies to prevent cognitive decline involving nutrition have centred around the use of B vitamins, following evidence that some B vitamin may … Continue reading →

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Homocysteine and Birth Size

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Robert Barrington

That high levels of plasma homocysteine could cause an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease was first hypothesised by Kilmer McKully in the late 1960’s. Since that time, a large body of research has supported the view that homocysteine … Continue reading →

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