Homocysteine levels in polycythaemia vera and essential thrombocythaemia

Patients with polycythaemia vera (PV) or essential thrombocythaemia (ET) have an increased risk of arterial and venous thromboembolic complications. Since hyperhomocysteinaemia (HHC) is a risk factor for vascular disease, we investigated the frequency of HHC in these disorders and analysed a possible association of elevated plasma homocysteine levels with vascular complications. In the cohort of 134 patients from Vienna (69 female, 65 male, median age 65.5 years, range 21–91 years) with PV (n = 74) or ET (n = 60), plasma homocysteine levels were significantly higher compared to 134 healthy controls. Median homocysteine level was 12.3 μmol/l (range 3.5–48.4 μmol/l) in patients with PV or ET and 8.9 μmol/l (range 4.8–30.5 μmol/l) in normal controls (P