Hyperhomocysteinemia - A risk factor for ischemic stroke in children

Background-Moderate hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for arterial Vasc ular disease and Venous thrombosis in adults. We performed a case-control s tudy to assess a possible relation between moderate hyperhomocysteinemia an d ischemic stroke in,Dutch children (age range, 0 to 18 years), Methods and Results-We measured plasma total homocysteine levels (tHcy) in: 45 patients with ischemic stroke and in 234 controls. Hyperhomocysteinemia was: defined as a tHcy above the 95th percentile regression line for the re spective age of the controls. Hyperhomocysteinemia was present in 8 (18%) O f the 45 patients with ischemic stroke. The odds ratio was 4.4 (95% CI, 1.7 to 11.6). Conclusions-We conclude that moderate hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for ischemic stroke in children.