A prospective cohort study of MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism and its influence on the therapeutic effect of homocysteine in stroke patients with hyperhomocysteinemia

BACKGROUND: Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHCY) is a risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The C677T 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphism increases homocysteine (HCY) levels. This study analyzed the relationship between C677T MTHFR polymorphism and the therapeutic effect of lowering HCY in stroke patients with HHCY. METHODS: Baseline data were collected from stroke patients with HHCY for this prospective cohort study. The C677T MTHFR genotype was detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and the therapeutic effect to reduce HCY was compared. RESULTS: Of 200 stroke patients 162 (81.0%) completed follow-up and were evaluated. Most of them responded well to treatment (103 cases, 63.5%), but 59 (36.4%) patients were in the poor efficacy group. There was a significant difference in terms of age (P < 0.001), hypertension (P = 0.041), hyperuricemia (P = 0.042), HCY after treatment (P < 0.001), and MTHFR genotype (P < 0.001) between the poor efficacy and effective groups, with increased frequency of the TT genotype in the poor efficacy group. Logistic regression showed that the T allele was associated with poor efficacy (OR = 0.733, 95%CI: 0.693, 0.862, P < 0.001). In the codominant model the TT genotype was associated with poor outcome (OR = 0.862, 95%CI: 0.767, 0.970, P = 0.017) and this was also the case in the recessive model (OR = 0.585, 95%CI: 0.462, 0.741, P < 0.001) but there was no association between CT and TT in the dominant model. CONCLUSIONS: The T allele and TT genotype of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism was associated with poor HCY reduction treatment efficacy in stroke patients with HHCY. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The registration number of the clinical trial is ChiCTR1800020048. Registration date: December 12, 2018.