Typically, hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with physical cardio vascular discomforts; however, it seems that excessive levels of this molecule in the blood can also cause completely different types of disorders.
In particular, as regards the psychiatric aspect, high levels of homocysteine in the blood lead back to an increase in the incidence of Alzheimer's disease. This is probably due to the oxidative stress induced by the intermediate amino acid which, similarly, seems to play a favoring role also in the onset of schizophrenia ("The oxidative stress may be induced by the elevated homocysteine in schizophrenic patients").
High levels of homocysteine have been statistically linked to increased bone fractures in older people. In a study carried out on Japanese people who had already experienced a stroke, folate and cobalamin supplementation was applied to decrease hyperhomocysteinemia; as a consequence, in addition to the reduction of circulating homocysteine, there has also emerged a REDUCTION of hip fractures of osteoporotic origin (" Effect of folate and methylcobalamin on hip fractures in patients with stroke: a randomized controlled trial ").
On the other hand, being a single study, the outcome is still to be interpreted as an "experimental trace" and not as a full-blown result.
