SEARCH Published: No CV Benefit on Reducing Homocysteine

Shelf life expired. Unusual candor.

Substantial long-term reductions in blood homocysteine levels with folic-acid and vitamin-B12 supplementation did not have beneficial effects on vascular outcomes in the large-scale SEARCH trial. But a silver lining of good news from the trial is that the vitamin supplements were not associated with any increase in cancer risk, which had been suggested in a previous study.

The trial, published in the June 23, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, was conducted by a team led by Dr Jane M Armitage (University of Oxford, UK).

Results from SEARCH were first reported by heartwire at the 2008 AHA meeting.

End of an Era

Armitage told heartwire that this large randomized trial "rounds off an era of trials with folic acid, which together suggest no benefit in reducing cardiovascular events."

"This is another example of findings from observational studies leading us up the wrong path. While there is no doubt about the association between increased homocysteine levels and increased heart-disease risk, our results suggest that this is not a causal association. Lowering homocysteine does not reduce that risk. There is probably a third party involved that increases risk of heart disease and increases homocysteine at the same time. So lowering homocysteine should no longer be the focus of our attention," Armitage commented.

Note: "This is another example of findings from observational studies leading us up the wrong path."

Welcome to the world of weight loss, "exercise advice" and "healthy" foods.

Learn this lesson well.