PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of hyperhomocystinemia in patients with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This prospective study included 30 patients with glaucoma and 30 age-matched controls with no history of ocular disease who were undergoing routine physical checkups. Plasma homocysteine levels of all the study participants were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography, and values exceeding 15 micromol/L were considered elevated. RESULTS: The mean plasma homocysteine level was 16.80 +/- 3.20 and 12.39 +/- 1.97 micromol/L in glaucoma patients and controls, respectively (P<0.0001). Fifteen glaucoma patients (50%) had hyperhomocystinemia compared with 3 controls (10%) (P=0.0015). CONCLUSION: Hyperhomocystinemia may be associated with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, which may partially explain the increased risk of vascular diseases among patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome.
PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of hyperhomocystinemia in patients with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This prospective study included 30 patients with glaucoma and 30 age-matched controls with no history of ocular disease who were undergoing routine physical checkups. Plasma homocysteine levels of all the study participants were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography, and values exceeding 15 micromol/L were considered elevated. RESULTS: The mean plasma homocysteine level was 16.80 +/- 3.20 and 12.39 +/- 1.97 micromol/L in glaucomapatients and controls, respectively (P<0.0001). Fifteen glaucomapatients (50%) had hyperhomocystinemia compared with 3 controls (10%) (P=0.0015). CONCLUSION: Hyperhomocystinemia may be associated with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, which may partially explain the increased risk of vascular diseases among patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome.