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Hi, what is the relationship between homocysteine levels and collagen synthesis? Dr Emily Deans wrote about it in her blog and it made me wanna know more. This first paper seems to support her idea that it causes a reduction in collagen while the other one seems to say the opposite. Maybe I don't know enough biochem to know the difference in types of collagen though. Thanks

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC302517/pdf/jcinvest00185-0193.pdf

http://atvb.ahajournals.org/content/17/10/2074.full

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6 Answers

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Unfiltered coffee raises homocysteine levels. Stress can raise homocysteine levels. Some studies have shown that women's homocysteine levels fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle. Anxiety before the blood draw is enough to make the level higher than it normally would be. Any so-called high or higher than ideal homocysteine level should be rechecked before a person starts gobbling downs copious amounts of pills to lower it. If it is chronically high, lowering it with bs will not reduce your risk of heart attack. I'm beginning to think too much blood testing and the resultant anxiety may be a risk factor for heart attack...

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What's in unfiltered coffee (e.g., instant coffee) that could raise homocysteine? And why wouldn't lowering chronically high homocysteine reduce CVD risk? – Namby Pamby Dec 5 2011 at 0:17
Agree with too much testing = anxiety = health risk...! – January Dec 5 2011 at 1:28
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Homocysteine can be really reduced by B vitamins. Homocysteine is converted to metionine by folate. To folate work there B12 is needed. For homocysteine to be converted to cystatione and cystatione degraded B6 is needed. Some enzymes there also need B2. When you give B vitamins these enzymes= molecular macchines start to work more. This is the point.

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It probably reduces collagen levels because homocisteine is elevated in inflammation which destroys collagen as collateral damage. B vitamins are typically used with CVD patients to reduce level of HC. If you wish to improve collagen strength, your best bet for now is vitamin C and lysine.

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@ Namby Pamby,

Re: coffee -- google it -- many theories abound. It's a your mileage may vary thing as for how you respond to coffee in general and unfiltered coffee specifically. I hope my unfiltered coffee comment doesn't get people trading in their walnut Halloween costumes (fear of omega-6) for espresso cup Halloween costumes (fear of terpenes). That wasn't my intention and all of this coffee talk has me jonesing for a double espresso. Re: why lowering homocysteine via gobbling gargantuan amounts of b vites doesn't lower cvd? -- maybe because homocysteine quite possibly has nothing to do with cvd and McCully's theory was/is wrong. Maybe so called elevated homocysteine means different things in different people and/or in people of different sexes and/or in people undergoing various stress. Association is not causation and the idea that owering homocysteine via b vites would lower cvd did not pan out. Don't believe me -- google it. I would blame chronic stress as a big factor in cvd and would recommend those worried about cvd invest in practicing daily meditation instead of worrying about how to lower homocysteine levels. That's it, I am going for that double espresso...

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Actually most people regard McCully's theory in positive light nowadays. What's accepted is that homocysteine, along with Lpa are independent risk factors for CVD. U can still pick out people with higher CVD risk this way. If it's a marker, it makes sense that trying to disguise that marker without changing the underlying condition won't affect elevated CVD risk. The same way some think LP(a) reduction may not actually reduce CVD risk. – Namby Pamby Dec 7 2011 at 16:53
Uh, since when is what most people believe persuasive. After all, most people believe that heaps of whole grains and very low fat diets are the Holy Grail against cvd. McCully is correct that homocysteine can be lowered by gobbling odd amounts of b vites. He was and remains incorrect that lowereing homocysteine in this way prevents cvd. Maybe homocysteine is a marker of some underlying condition but not the cause. But I think it's mostly just a red herring. – Alexandra Dec 7 2011 at 18:43
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I read that blog too. What I don't understand is her claim that homocysteine levels can be lowered by taking B vitamins. My understanding is that that's not the case.

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 Well I think she was saying the levels can be lowered but there is no reduction in heart disease risk with the B-vitamin lowered levels. – Jeff Sep 5 2011 at 2:02
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 B vitamins do cause HC to drop. And collagen is very affected by methyl transfers.....of which vitamin B do a ton. – The Quilt Sep 5 2011 at 2:14
Doc, English, por favor? – AdrianaG Oct 23 2011 at 20:53
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If lowering homocysteine with B vitamins doesn't reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, then how the hell does higher homocysteine levels cause heart disease? That doesn't make any sense.

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It may be associated with and not causative – Jeff Sep 27 at 0:04
or the same thing that causes high homocysteine may be also doing something else to cause CVD – Jeff Sep 27 at 0:05

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