Homocysteine Hypothesis of CV Disease Is "Dead"

From Internal Medicine News:

Lowering plasma homocysteine with B vitamin therapy does not prevent subsequent MIs and strokes in patients who have had an MI—to the contrary, it may even be harmful, according to the results of the first large randomized treatment trial to examine the issue.

“The homocysteine hypothesis is dead. Homocysteine is not a causal risk factor. It is an innocent bystander,” Kaare Harald Bonaa, M.D., told this newspaper at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology...

But now the Norwegian Vitamin Trial (NORVIT) has shown that such therapy doesn't prevent cardiovascular events; indeed, it may even increase the risk. And there was also a disturbing trend, albeit not statistically significant, for an increase in cancer...

Technorati Tags: Homocysteine, Cardiovascular Disease