Homocysteine in Chronic Kidney Disease: Clinical Diagnostic Aspects

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most common pathologies worldwide. With CKD, cardiovascular risk increases and mortality rises. The article presents the role of homocysteine as a laboratory marker of renal failure and the development of cardiovascular disease. Homocysteine is a thiol-containing amino acid, which is an intermediate product of methionine metabolism, which is metabolized in two ways: due to the transfer of the sulfate group, which occurs in the presence of vitamin B 6, or remethylation, which occurs in the presence of vitamin B 12 and folic acid. Normally, in an adult, the concentration of total homocysteine in blood plasma does not exceed 15 μmol/L. It has been shown that with CKD, hyperhomocysteinemia is observed at the initial stages and its frequency increases at the pre- and dialysis stages of the disease. Hyperhomocysteinemia provokes endothelial dysfunction, accelerates systemic atherosclerosis, increases the risk of atherothrombotic complications. Evaluation of plasma homocysteine levels may be useful in stratifying nephrocardio- and cerebrovascular risk in CKD.