Plasma levels of homocystein in women elderly with ulcers in the foot

Abstract

Introduction: Homocysteine is an amino acid produced in the liver and its elevated levels are related to atherosclerosis and ulcer. Objective: To evaluate the plasma levels of homocysteine of elderly women with ulcers in the lower limbs. Methods: Participated 40 elderly women, mean age 67.4 ± 6.49 years, separated into ulcer (GU) and control (CG) groups. The evaluation of the presence of ulcer was performed by observation, the homocysteine concentration (μmol/L) was evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and blood pressure was measured using an aneroid sphygmomanometer HICO HM 1001. Results: Higher homocysteine levels for the ulcer group 17.69 ± 6.82 vs control 11.70 ± 1.51. The systolic and diastolic blood pressures did not differences between the ulcer group 134,16±19,28/74,16±11,64 and control group 136,15±16,09/77,69±5,99,
respectively. Conclusion: It is concluded that plasma levels of homocysteine in
elderly women with ulcer are increased.