Are There Differences in Plasma Homocysteine Levels between Patients with Asthma and the Healthy Population? An Initial Study in Slovakia

Background: Homocysteine can affect the expression of genes that are closely linked to oxidative stress and inflammatory processes, suggesting a link between plasma homocysteine (P-Hcy) level and chronic airway inflammation in asthmatic patients. This study investigated the differences in P-Hcy level in asthmatic patients compared to a healthy population.Methods: A total of 76 patients were enrolled in the study on the basis of absence of any diagnosis for any diseases other than asthma that was compared with the control healthy group having no diagnosis for any other diseases. We compared the obtained P-Hcy levels between the asthma and control groups by taking into account biochemical parameters serum C-reactive protein (S-CRP) level, serum aspartate transferase (S-AST) level or the patient’s body mass index (BMI).Results: The patients with asthma showed an increased level of P-Hcy. Also, the S-AST level slightly increased in the asthma group and on the contrary, the S-CRP level increased in the control group.Conclusion: Our research demonstrated that patients with asthma had an elevated P-Hcy level when compared to the healthy population.