Background: Ischemic stroke is a frequent heterogeneous multifactorial disease. A number of genetic mutations and environmental factors have been implicated. A polymorphism in the gene for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) has been reported to be associated with hyperhomocysteinemia a risk for atherosclerotic vascular diseases.
Aim: A cross-sectional study was performed to determine the relationship between the gene polymorphism for MTHFR and ischemic stroke in type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Materials and methods: Of the 215 unrelated patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus recruited, 119 patients had ischemic stroke, Control group included 142 healthy subjects. The genotype of the subjects for the C677T polymorphism of MTHFR was analyzed by using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) followed by HinfI digestion. Plasma total homocysteine (Hcy) levels were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection.
Results: The genotype distribution did not differ between the control subjects and type 2 diabetic patients (P > 0.05). Plasma homocysteine levels were markedly higher in diabetic patients with TT genotype than those with CC or CT genotype (P > 0.05). Ischemic stroke was more frequently observed in type 2 diabetic patients with the TT genotype than in those with the CT and CC genotype (odds ratio = 4.04, 95% CI = 1.95-8.34, P = 0.0036). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the C677T mutation of MTHFR gene was independently associated with ischemic stroke in type 2 diabetes.
Conclusion: MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism associated with a predisposition to hyperhomocysteinemia could constitute a useful predictive marker for ischemic stroke in type 2 diabetic Chinese patients.