Homocysteine and Malondialdehyde as Predictors of Restenosis Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Restenosis is one of the major adverse outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI). The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not serum MDA and plasma homocysteine levels are elevated in patients who develop restenosis post PCI. The study included fifty-one patients undergoing elective PCI. Blood samples were collected pre-procedural, 0 time, 8 hours, 24 hours, and 6 months post-procedure. The results of the study showed that the pre-procedural levels of plasma homocysteine were significantly different from those of the post-PCI values in the restenosis group. In the restenosis group there was a significant increase (24%) after six months in the values of homocysteine from the pre-procedural levels. The values of serum MDA increased significantly at six months post-PCI in patients with restenosis. The levels of serum MDA in patients with restenosis at six months increased by one hundred and thirty-eight percent and were significantly different in the restenosis group. The results suggest that pre-procedural levels of plasma homocysteine and serum MDA were not predictors of restenosis following PCI. However, the post-PCI six month levels of both homocysteine and MDA are predictors of restenosis. Moreover, the post-PCI levels of MDA were better predictors of restenosis than the post-PCI levels of homocysteine because the increase in MDA levels were greater at six months, than the rise in homocysteine levels at the same time interval.