The Spanish Society of Cardiology has awarded a grant of 2,500,000 pesetas to project from the University to investigate the effects of hyperhomocysteinemia, which partially affects between 5% and 7% of the population, on development and the stability of the atherosclerotic lesion. Professor José Antonio Rodríguez García will lead a team researcher of the department of Cardiology of the School of Medicine, recently integrated into the Atherosclerosis Unit of the Cardiovascular Physiopathology Division.

"Moderate elevation of plasma homocysteine levels (hyperhomocysteinemia) constitutes a vascular risk factor that affects the central nervous system and the peripheral, coronary and cerebral vascular systems," said José Antonio Rodríguez García, and pointed out that it may be due to genetic or dietary-environmental factors, such as deficiency of vitamins B6, B12 and folates.

"The main goal of this project is to deepen the knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying cardiovascular disease associated with hyperhomocysteinemia," stressed the researcher principal of the project.

This doctor explained that homocysteine is an amino acid that is formed in the body in small quantities as a result of the metabolism of methionine, present in animal proteins contained in meat, eggs or milk.

"Moderate hyperhomocysteinemia, which affects a relatively high proportion of the population, has been considered manager to be responsible for up to 30% of cases of premature atherothrombosis," said José Antonio Rodríguez García. "Recently, homocysteine alteration has been associated with the consumption of diets rich in methionine (animal proteins) or fats and poor in vegetables (fruits and vegetables), and with excessive alcohol consumption, which would help to explain its high incidence in society," he added.

Meat, fish and green leafy vegetables

José Antonio Rodríguez García stated that "the prevention of this pathology, through dietary modifications, especially vitamin supplementation, and its possible therapies are one of the main focuses of attention in the areas of nutrition and cardiovascular biomedicine".

Thus, he noted that vitamin B12 is obtained almost exclusively from foods of animal origin, such as meat - liver, oysters, clams, sardines and salmon. "Green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach and asparagus, as well as orange juice are especially rich in folates. As for vitamin B6, it is found in virtually all foods, but green vegetables have a relatively high content of this nutrient, along with cereals, nuts, peas and salmon," he said.