Public Release: 16-May-2018 Elevated homocysteine identified as metabolic risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases Study led by researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University Temple University Health System

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/tuhs-ehi051618.php

The amino acid homocysteine occurs naturally in the human body, generated as a byproduct of methionine metabolism. Genetic diseases or an imbalanced diet, with too much red meat or deficiencies in B vitamins and folic acid, however, can lead to high homocysteine levels, a condition known as hyperhomocysteinemia. This condition causes considerable harm to the heart but can also affect the brain.

Now, in a new study published online in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University further reveal the extent to which elevated homocysteine damages the brain. In mice, they show that diet-induced increases in homocysteine levels directly contribute to the development of damaging neurofibrillary tangles, which result from the progressive accumulation of abnormal tau protein in the brain. Tau neurofibrillary tangle accumulation is a major contributor to nerve cell death, dementia, and neurodegenerative disease.

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