PLASMA FREE AND TOTAL HOMOCYSTEINE FOLLOWING AN ORAL METHIONINE LOAD

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Homocystiene is a substance that is derived from methionine which is a part of protein that is present in most foods that we eat. Homocysteine is thought to be important in causing or worsening heart dieease. The exact way in which homocysteine causes dmage is not known but it is thought to damage arteries. Following a protein meal, blood levels of homocysteine rise and is associated with abnormalities in blood vessels. We wish to determine whether the proportion of free homocysteine to bound homocysteine rises following a meal. Since it is difficult to standardize protein intake a standardized test involving methionine tablets is used. We will be comparing the rise in free homocysteine following methionine load in patients with heart disease with normal volunteers and study markers of blood vessel damage.