Summary: If you have excess homocysteine, you might be at an elevated risk for heart disease, stroke, and other health issues.Homocysteine is a naturally-occurring amino acid found in your blood plasma. Having high homocysteine levels might increase your risk of heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and osteoporosis. What are the newly-identified risks of excess homocysteine? A recent study, published in 2014, looked at people with high homocysteine and uric acid and found that there was a 10.5-fold greater risk of vascular dementia. Other studies show that homocysteine could increase your Alzheimer's risk, worsen diabetic complications, and contribute to an increased rate of brain atrophy. What else do you need to know about homocysteine? Listen in as Dr. Mike discusses homocysteine and the newly-identified risks of having excess homocysteine.
