Meta-Analysis On Relationship Between Homocysteine, Vitamin B₁₂, Folate And Multiple Sclerosis

ObjectiveTo assess the relationship between serum homocysteine, vitamin B12 and folate levels in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) by conducting a meta-analysis of all relevant studies.MethodsA literature search was performed to identify all published case-control studies of serum homocysteine, vitamin B12 and folate levels in persons with MS. The methodological quality of the internalized literatures were valuated, screened and heterogeneity tested. The valid data was extracted and analyzed in Stata 10.1.ResultsA meta-analysis showed that the level of homocysteine in MS was higher than that in controls (SMD=1.25,95%CI:0.48～2.01) and the level of vitamin B12 in MS was lower than that in controls (SMD=-0.24,95%CI:-0.39～-0.10). The analytical result of sensitivity proved that the result of meta-analysis was coherent. But the result of folate was no significant difference.ConclusionsMS is correlated with elevated serum homocysteine level and low serum vitamin B12 level, which might contribute to the pathogenesis of MS.