Trial reportOrphanet journal of rare diseases2022
Efficacy and pharmacokinetics of betaine in CBS and cblC deficiencies: a cross-over randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Orphanet journal of rare diseases, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02404337 (Betaine METABOLISM OF PATIENTS With Homocystinuria), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Betaine METABOLISM OF PATIENTS With Homocystinuria
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Betaine: A Promising Natural Product for Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Review
- Homocystinuria: Advances in metabolic and molecular therapies targeting homocysteine pathways (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Review
- Article
- Improved biochemical and neurodevelopmental profiles with high-dose hydroxocobalamin therapy in cobalamin C defect.Journal of inherited metabolic disease · 2025Article
- Exercise-mimicking effects of betaine in chronic disease prevention and management.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Cystathionine Beta-Synthase Deficiency: Three Consecutive Cases Detected in 40 Days by Newborn Screening in Emilia Romagna (Italy) and a Comprehensive Review of the Literature.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBetaine is an "alternate" methyl donor for homocysteine remethylation catalyzed by betaine homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT), an enzyme mainly expressed in the liver and kidney. Betaine has been used for more than 30 years in pyridoxine non-responsive cystathionine beta-synthase (pnrCBS) and cobalamin C (cblC) deficiencies to lower the hyperhomocysteinemia, although little is known about the optimal therapeutic dosage and its pharmacokinetic in these patients.
aimsWe compared 2 betaine doses (100 mg/kg/day vs. 250 mg/kg/day) in children affected by pnrCBS or cblC deficiencies. We also measured the pharmacokinetics parameters after a single dose of betaine (100 or 250 mg/kg) in these patients.
methodsWe conducted a prospective, randomized, crossover clinical trial with blinded evaluation. The primary outcome was the equivalence of total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations upon one-month oral treatment with betaine at 100 versus 250 mg/kg/day.
resultsEleven patients completed the study (5 pnrCBS and 6 cblC). tHcy concentrations were equivalent after a one-month treatment period for the two betaine dosages. Multivariate analysis showed a significant effect of betaine dose on methionine (Met) (p = 0.01) and S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) concentrations (p = 0.006).
conclusionsOur analysis shows that there is no overt benefit to increasing betaine dosage higher than 100 mg/kg/day to lower tHcy concentrations in pnrCBS and cblC deficiencies. However, increasing betaine up to 250 mg/kg/d could benefit cblC patients through the increase of methionine and SAM concentrations, as low Met and SAM concentrations are involved in the pathophysiology of this disease. In contrast, in pnrCBS deficiency, betaine doses higher than 100 mg/kg/day could be harmful to these patients with pre-existing hypermethioninemia.
trial registrationClinical Trials, NCT02404337. Registered 23 May 2015-prospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov .
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.