Prognosis Of Acute Ischemic Stroke Research Articles

Free Fatty Acids in CSF and Neurological Clinical Scores: Prognostic Value for Stroke Severity in ICU.

Introduction Brain ischemia initiated significant increase in FFAs in animal studies. Accumulation of FFA can lead to liberation of inflammatory byproducts that contribute to neuronal death. Increased risk of systemic thromboembolism was seen in animal models after FFA infusion possibly through activation of factor XII by stearic acids. The clinical studies that examined the relation between stroke in humans and CSF biomarkers are infrequent. Aim of Work. We tried to evaluate the potential role of FFAs in CSF in the diagnosis and the prognosis of ICU patients with AIS while comparing the results to traditional neurological scoring systems. Patients and Methods. Our study included 80 patients who were admitted to ICU with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) within 24 hours of the onset of cerebral infarction. CSF samples were obtained at admission. The FFA levels were measured using the sensitive enzyme-based colorimetric method. The NIHSS, GCS, and mRS were evaluated at admission and at 30 days. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to evaluate the stroke outcome according to FFA levels in CSF. Results Worsening of the GCS (<7) at 30 days showed a significant correlation with FFA in CSF. The ROC curve showed a cutoff value of 0.27 nmol/µl, sensitivity of 62.9%, and specificity of 72.2%. There was a significant correlation between FFA in CSF and the mRS >2 at 30 days. The ROC curve showed a cutoff value of 0.27 nmol/µl, specificity of 69.2%, and sensitivity of 59.7%. There was a significant correlation between FFA in CSF and the NIHSS ≥ 16 at 30 days. The ROC curve showed a cutoff value of 0.27 nmol/µl, specificity of 72.2%, and sensitivity of 62.9%. Our study subdivided patients according to infarction volume and compared the 2 subgroups with FFA in CSF. We found a significant difference between 2 subgroups. FFA levels showed a positive correlation with infarction volume ≥145 ml. The ROC curve showed a cutoff value of 0.25 nmol/µl, sensitivity of 76.9%, and specificity of 71.4%. Our study showed that FFA in CSF was a significant predictor of all-cause mortality (0.37 + 0.26, P value 0.007). The ROC curve showed a cutoff value of 0.27, specificity of 72.2%, and sensitivity of 62.9%. There was a positive correlation between FFA in CSF and neurological causes of mortality (0.48 + 0.38, P value 0.037). The ROC curve showed a cutoff value of 0.37 nmol/µl, specificity of 76.1%, and sensitivity of 61.5%. Conclusion FFA in CSF may serve as an independent prognostic biomarker for assessing the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke and the clinical outcome. It might be a useful biomarker for early detection of high-risk patients for poor outcome and hence more aggressive treatment.

Influence of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 mass on prognosis value of baseline platelet count for clinical outcomes after acute ischemic stroke

Background and aimsWe aimed to examine the association between baseline platelet count (PLT) and prognosis of acute ischemic stroke according to lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) mass. MethodsA total of 3254 patients with acute ischemic stroke were included in this analysis. The primary outcome was a combination of major disability and all-cause mortality (modified Rankin Scale score ≥3) at 3 months after stroke. Secondary outcome was major disability and all-cause mortality, respectively. ResultsThe prognosis value of PLT for primary outcome was significantly modified by Lp-PLA2 mass (pinteraction = 0.002). After multivariate adjustment, elevated PLT was associated with the increased risk of primary outcome in patients with high Lp-PLA2 mass (odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09–2.48; ptrend = 0.002), but not in those with low Lp-PLA2 mass (OR, 0.94; 95%CI, 0.62–1.42; ptrend = 0.181), when comparing two extreme PLT quartiles. A similar association was found between elevated PLT and major disability (pinteraction = 0.001). Elevated PLT was associated with increased risk of major disability only in patients with high Lp-PLA2 mass (OR, 1.54; 95%CI, 1.03–2.31; ptrend = 0.007), for the highest quartile vs the lowest quartile. Each 100 × 109/L increment in PLT was associated with 42% (95%CI, 12%–79%) increased risk of primary outcome and 33% (95%CI, 6%–68%) increased risk of major disability in those with high Lp-PLA2 mass. ConclusionsThe elevated PLT was associated with poor prognosis of acute ischemic stroke only in patients with high Lp-PLA2 mass. Lp-PLA2 might be an important factor influencing the prognosis value of PLT for clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients.

Prognostic Nutritional Index for Predicting 3-Month Outcomes in Ischemic Stroke Patients Undergoing Thrombolysis

Objective: Malnutrition has been reported to be related to adverse prognosis in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. Unfortunately, traditional nutritional assessment tools usually increase the workload of neurologists, which makes them unfeasible in the daily clinic work. We aimed to elucidate the association between the prognostic nutritional index (PNI), an easily obtainable baseline nutritional marker, and 3-month outcomes in AIS patients receiving intravenous thrombolysis (IVT).Research methods and procedures: The present study retrospectively included 405 patients. PNI was calculated as 5*lymphocyte count (109 /L) + serum albumin concentration (g/L), and the good prognosis was defined as modified Rankin Scale score of 0–3. The relationship between PNI and clinical parameters was evaluated. The multiple logistic regression model was performed to find out independent predictors of the 3-month outcomes.Results: We found that the patients in the low PNI group had a higher frequency of anemia (12.9 vs. 2.3%, P < 0.001) and a higher level of the Controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score (P < 0.001). The relationship between PNI and nutrition-related factors, such as body mass index (r = 0.208, P = 0.001), age (r = −0.329, P < 0.001), total cholesterol (r = 0.268, P < 0.001) and hemoglobin concentration (r = 0.328, P < 0.001), was significant. Low PNI value (adjusted odds ratio: 2.250, confidence interval: 1.192–4.249, p = 0.012) stayed as an independent predictor for the poor outcome at three months, after adjustment for potential confounders.Conclusions: The PNI was independently associated with 3-month outcomes in AIS patients undergoing IVT. As an easily obtainable nutritional marker, PNI may be a useful nutritional assessment tool in the clinic work.

Dynamic Changes in Fibrinogen and Prognosis of Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Treated with Intravenous Thrombolysis.

This study aimed to investigate the association between dynamic changes in fibrinogen and the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT). We measured fibrinogen levels at admission and 24h after IVT in 364 consecutively recruited AIS patients. The primary outcome was the composite measure of death or major disability (modified Rankin Scale score 3-6) at 3months. During the 3-month follow-up, 127 (34.89%) patients experienced death or major disability. After multivariate adjustment, a ≥ 2.5% increase in fibrinogen was associated with an increased risk of the primary outcome (odds ratio [OR], 2.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-4.75; p trend = 0.030) when 2 extreme tertiles were compared. Each 1% increase in fibrinogen after IVT was associated with a 1% increase in the risk of the primary outcome (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.03). Multivariable-adjusted spline regression revealed a linear dose-response relationship between fibrinogen changes after IVT and the primary outcome (p for linearity = 0.032). The addition of fibrinogen changes to conventional risk factors improved the re-classification (but not discrimination) of the primary outcome (net reclassification index 27.6%, p = 0.011). These findings indicated that an increase in fibrinogen after IVT was associated with an increased risk of death or major disability in AIS patients, suggesting that monitoring the dynamic profile of fibrinogen levels may help neurologists improve stroke outcomes in clinical settings.

Is neutrophil/eosinophil ratio at admission a prognostic marker for in-hospital mortality of acute ischemic stroke?

ObjectivesThere has been a recent focus on hematological parameters affecting the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, there are no studies investigating the neutrophil/eosinophil ratio (NER). This study aimed to investigate whether NER at admission is a prognostic marker for in-hospital mortality in patients with AIS. Methods204 AIS patients with similar vascular occlusion were included in the study, including 135 patients who survived and 69 patients who died in the hospital. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the prognostic factors of AIS. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the predictive value of the variables and calculate the cut-off values. Results69 patients died in the hospital [24 men and 45 women, median age: 78 (49-99)], and 135 patients survived [58 men and 77 women, median age: 74 (22–99)]. The mean age of patients with mortality was higher compared to the patients who survived (p value=0.007). Multivariate logistic regression model revealed that only NER and red blood cell distribution width (RDW-SD) were prognostic factors (p = 0.036 and p = 0.032, respectively). Areas under the ROC curve were 0.675 for NER (95% CI, 0.59–0.75), 0.636 for neutrophil (95% CI, 0.55–0.71), 0.602 for RDW-SD (95% CI, 0.51-0.69) and 0.656 for eosinophil (95% CI, 0.57-0.74). ConclusionOur results showed that there is a correlation between the in-hospital mortality of AIS and high NER at admission. NER at admission can be used as a poor prognostic marker for AIS.

Evaluation of analytic and clinical performance of thrombin-antithrombin complex and D-dimer assay in prognosis of acute ischemic stroke.

: To evaluate analytic and clinical performance of plasma thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT) and D-dimer assay in assessing the severity and outcome of acute ischemic stroke. The prospective study was conducted and extended from January 2018 to December 2018. A total of 236 patients admitted within 24 h after neurologic symptoms onset were recruited. The median TAT and D-dimer levels were significantly higher in the acute ischemic stroke patients than in the controls. The average TAT levels in patients with mild, moderately severe and severe stroke were 1.75 [interquartile ranges (IQR), 1.1-2.6], 3.3 (IQR, 1.8-4.5) and 13.5 (IQR, 7.2-15.3) ng/ml. The D-dimer levels of respective patient groups were 0.39 (IQR, 0.22-0.73), 0.58 (IQR, 0.39-1.25) and 3.59 (IQR, 1.73-4.74) mg/l. With the optimal cut-off TAT level (1.75 ng/ml) determined from receiver operating characteristic analysis, the Area under the curve (AUC), the sensitivity and specificity of TAT for stroke diagnosis were 0.763, 58.1 and 87.8%. The cut-off D-dimer level was 0.38 mg/l and the AUC, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.772, 60.2 and 88.9%. The Area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) and sensitivity in the moderate to severe stroke increased to 0.903 and 86.9% for TAT, and 0.880 and 80.3% for D-dimer, respectively. Age and high TAT level were significant independent risk factors for stroke severity. Age, high initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score and high TAT level were significant independent poor prognostic factors on multivariate analysis. TAT and D-dimer were superior in separating the moderate-to-severe stroke than mild stroke. A high TAT plasma level is an independent predictor for stroke severity and poor prognosis during 1-month follow-up.

Acute Anterior Choroidal Artery Territory Infarction: A Retrospective Study

ObjectivesTo explore the clinical features, risk factors, etiopathogenesis, mechanism of progression, effect of intravenous thrombolysis therapy (IVT) and prognosis of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in the anterior choroidal artery (AChA) territory. Patients and methodsA total of 113 AChA infarction patients were enrolled in the current study retrospectively. The demographic and clinical characteristics were collected and analyzed in all patients. The clinical characteristics were compared between clinical progression and no clinical progression groups, good and poor outcome groups, as well as with and without intravenous rt-PA groups. ResultsHemiparesis was the most common clinical manifestation (92.9%), followed by dyslexia (54.9%), hemianesthesia (43.4%) and other syndromes. Forty-nine patients (43.4%) suffered from clinical progression and showed a higher rate with multiple risk factors together than patients without clinical progression (30.6% vs.14.1%, P = 0.039). Moreover, more patients with progression were found with carotid plaques (73.5% vs. 51.6%, P = 0.018) or carotid artery stenosis (18.4% vs. 6.3%, P = 0.045) than patients without progression. 69.9% of patients got good prognosis at 6-months. In good prognosis group, the proportion of patients with atrial fibrillation, clinical progression and large infarct size were significantly lower than in poor prognosis group (1.3% vs. 11.8%, P = 0.047; 23.9% vs. 67.6%, P = 0.001; 15.2% vs. 38.2%, P = 0.007). No significant difference was found on rate of clinical progression and good prognosis between patients with and without IVT. ConclusionMotor deficits are the most frequent and typical symptoms in AChA infarcts. Although small artery disease was considered to be the important etiopathogenesis of the AChA infarcts, large vascular disease may be associated with clinical progression in AChA infarcts. Additionally, prognosis of AChA infarcts is correlated with clinical progression, infarct size and atrial fibrillation. IVT does not seem to prevent the clinical progression and improve prognosis of AChA infarcts.

Plasma S100A8/A9 Concentrations and Clinical Outcomes of Ischemic Stroke in 2 Independent Multicenter Cohorts.

S100A8/A9 is implicated in inflammation mechanisms related to atherosclerosis and plaque vulnerability, but it remains unclear whether S100A8/A9 is associated with the prognosis of ischemic stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate these associations in 2 independent multicenter cohorts. Plasma S100A8/A9 concentrations at baseline were measured among 4785 patients with ischemic stroke from 2 independent cohorts: Infectious Factors, Inflammatory Markers, and Prognosis of Acute Ischemic Stroke (IIPAIS) and China Antihypertensive Trial in Acute Ischemic Stroke (CATIS). The primary outcome was a composite outcome of death or major disability at 3 months after ischemic stroke. Secondary outcomes were major disability, death, and a composite outcome of death or vascular events. Among the combined participants of IIPAIS and CATIS, the adjusted odds ratios associated with the highest quartile of plasma S100A8/A9 were 2.11 (95% CI, 1.66-2.68) for the primary outcome and 1.62 (95% CI, 1.27-2.07) for the secondary outcome of major disability; adjusted hazard ratios were 4.14 (95% CI, 2.10-8.15) for the secondary outcome of death and 2.08 (95% CI, 1.38-3.13) for the composite outcome of death or vascular events. Each SD increase of log-transformed S100A8/A9 was associated with 28% (95% CI, 18%-39%; P < 0.001) increased risk of the primary outcome. Multivariable-adjusted spline regression analyses showed a linear association between plasma S100A8/A9 concentrations and primary outcome (P < 0.001 for linearity). Subgroup analyses further confirmed these associations. High plasma S100A8/A9 concentrations at baseline were independently associated with increased risks of adverse clinical outcomes at 3 months after ischemic stroke, suggesting that S100A8/A9 might have a role as a prognostic marker of ischemic stroke.

KLF4 alleviates cerebral vascular injury by ameliorating vascular endothelial inflammation and regulating tight junction protein expression following ischemic stroke

BackgroundAlthough inflammatory cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) and anti-inflammation factor Kruppel-like transcription factor (KLF) 4 have all been reported to be induced after cerebral ischemic stroke (CIS), the close temporal and spatial relationship between expressions of CAMs and KLF4 following CIS and whether and how CAMs and KLF-4 contribute to the development of CIS-induced vascular injury are still unclear.MethodsHere, we first examined the correlation between serum levels of CAMs/KLF4 and infarct volume in acute CIS patients. Then, we determined the relationship between CAMs and KLF4 in mice after focal cerebral ischemia. Finally, we investigated the mechanism of KLF4 in protecting against oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced brain endothelial cell injury.ResultsOur results demonstrated that patients with moderate to severe CIS had higher serum levels of three CAMs including E-selectin, inter-cellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) but lower levels of KLF4 at 48 h after an acute event as compared to patients with minor CIS. The expression levels of three CAMs as well as KLF4 all correlated well with the infarct volume in all the CIS subjects at that time. Although the expressions of three CAMs and KLF4 were all induced in the ischemic hemisphere following focal cerebral ischemia, the peak timing and distribution patterns of their expression were different: the induction of KLF4 lagged behind that of the CAMs in the ischemic penumbra; furthermore, the dual immunofluorescent studies displayed that high expression of KLF4 was always associated with relatively less cerebral vascular endothelial inflammation response in the ischemic hemisphere and vice versa. Mechanistic analyses revealed that KLF4 alleviated CIS-induced cerebral vascular injury by regulating endothelial expressions of CAMs, nuclear factor-kB, and tight junction proteins.ConclusionsThese data indicate that KLF4 confers vascular protection against cerebral ischemic injury, suggesting that circulating CAMs and KLF4 might be used as potential biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke and also providing a new proof of concept and potential targets for future prevention and treatment of CIS.

Association of Small Dense Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol with Stroke Risk, Severity and Prognosis.

Aim: To investigate the association of small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) and acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in terms of risk, severity, and outcomes. Prediction models were established to screen high-risk patients and predict prognosis of AIS patients.Methods: We enrolled in this study 355 AIS patients and 171 non-AIS controls. AIS was subtyped according to TOAST criteria, and the severity and outcomes of AIS were measured. Blood glucose and lipid profiles including total cholesterol, triglyceride, and lipoproteins were measured in all patients using automatic measure. Lipoprotein subfractions were detected by the Lipoprint LDL system.Results: As compared with the non-AIS control group, the AIS group had higher sdLDL-C levels. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that the sdLDL-C level and risk of AIS, especially non-cardioembolic stroke, were positively correlated. The area under the curve of sdLDL-C for AIS risk was 0.665, better than that of other lipids. Additionally, the sdLDL-C level was significantly correlated with AIS severity and bad outcomes. A logistic regression model for assessing the probability of AIS occurrence and a prognostic prediction model were established based on sdLDL-C and other variables.Conclusions: Elevated levels of sdLDL-C were associated with a higher prevalence of AIS, especially in non-cardioembolic stroke subtypes. After adjustment for other risk factors, sdLDL-C was found to be an independent risk factor for AIS. Also, sdLDL-C level was strongly associated with AIS severity and poor functional outcomes. Logistic regression models for AIS risk and prognosis prediction were established to help clinicians provide better prevention for high-risk subjects and monitor their prognosis.

Whey protein plus lipoic acid supplementation improves inflammatory and antioxidant markers of patients with acute ischemic stroke

PurposeAlthough the pathogenesis of stroke is not yet completely elucidated, factors such as oxidative stress and inflammation have been shown to play an important role in this regard. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of whey protein plus lipoic acid on the inflammatory and oxidative stress markers and the prognosis in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients.Design/methodology/approachA double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted among 42 patients with the first episode of AIS at the Imam Reza Hospital of the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. The blind research staff randomly assigned patients to two groups of receiving usual hospital gavage (control group) and 1,200 mg of lipoic acid plus 20 g of whey protein in addition to usual hospital gavage (intervention group) for midday meal. Levels of albumin, Interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and clinical outcomes including severity of neurologic damage according to National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and functional state based on modified Rankin Scale (mRS) were evaluated initially and three weeks later.FindingsThere were no significant differences in demographic and baseline characteristics between the two groups (p&gt; 0.05). After three weeks, hs-CRP (p&lt;* 0.01), IL-6 (p= 0.02) and TNF-α(p= 0.01) levels significantly reduced in the intervention group, but no significant changes were observed in cases of albumin, malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in this group (p&gt; 0.05). Instead, only IL-6 decreased significantly in the control group (p&lt;* 0.01). In addition, comparing changes of assessed variables between two groups showed no significant improvement in the whey protein plus lipoic acid supplementation group vs the control group (p &gt; 0.05). While there was significant betterment in clinical prognosis parameters within groups, no significant changes were found between groups.Originality/valueThe investigation implied that whey protein plus lipoic acid supplementation has no significant effects on inflammatory and oxidative stress markers compared to the control group of AIS patients. More studies in this field are needed to approve the result.

Abstract TP95: Novel Biomarkers of Acute Ischemic Stroke Using MicroRNA Analysis

Background: Despite recent advances in treatment, early diagnosis and prognosis of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) suffers from significant limitations. Growing number of mostly case-control studies have determined that noncoding, micro-ribonucleic acid (miRNAs) play a role in the pathophysiologic processes related to cerebral ischemia and post-stroke recovery. This pilot project is a longitudinal study, which investigates difference in miRNA regulation in acute vs. chronic stage of ischemic stroke. Hypothesis: Expression of some miRNAs is significantly altered in acute stage of ischemic stroke. Methods: Blood and urine specimens collected during the acute phase (&lt;72 hours) of ischemic stroke and at follow-up phases (within 3 months) were used to quantify the expression of five selected miRNAs (miRNA 21-5p; miRNA 124-5p, miRNA 126, miRNA 223, and miRNA 298) using 20 sample pairs (N=40) available with urine and blood specimens. Total RNA from frozen blood samples were isolated using the mir VANA RNA isolation kit (Ambion, USA). We extracted exosomal RNA from urine samples using exosome kit (Qiagen, USA). We ran miRNA expression assays using TaqMan probes (Applied Biosciences, USA) on 384-well microplates using QuantStudio 6 available in our lab. Each assay was run in duplicates using endogenous (U6) and blank controls. Results: The miRNA21-5p was significantly down-regulated (p&lt;0.0001) at the acute phase in both blood and urine; inversely, miRNA124 was significantly upregulated (p&lt;0.0001) at the acute phase vs. the chronic phase. The increased expression of miRNA 124-5p in both urine and serum strongly correlated with a lower stroke scale (NIHSS score (&lt;8)), and its expression was significantly diminished with the increase in stroke severity (NIHSS &gt;10). Expression of exosomal miRNA126 extracted from urine, was significantly upregulated (p&lt;0.0001) during the acute phase, but remained unchanged at the acute and chronic phase (p=0.857) in serum. Conclusion: Our study showed the dysregulation of important miRNAs in acute stage of stroke. The upregulation of miRNA 124-5p in strokes with lower NIHSS may serve as early prognostic biomarker. Once replicated in larger scale studies, it will provide novel insights on understanding stroke pathophysiology.

Red blood cell distribution width is associated with mortality after acute ischemic stroke: a cohort study and systematic review.

Whether red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is associated with the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke is inconclusive according to recent studies. We performed a cohort study and meta-analysis to explore the association between RDW and functional outcome. Patients with ischemic stroke admitted to the Department of Neurology within 24 hours of stroke onset between January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2018 were enrolled. Blood was sampled within 24 hours after admission. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science databases up to Nov 2019 to identify studies investigating the association between RDW values and prognosis following stroke. Outcomes included 3-month death and poor functional outcome [defined by modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score ≥3]. We included 1,558 patients in cohort study. RDW was independently associated with 3-month death [odds ratio (OR), 1.19; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03, 1.37], but not associated with 3-month poor outcome (OR 1.05, 95% CI, 0.95, 1.16), after adjustment for confounders. A dose-dependent relationship between RDW levels and 3-month death was revealed in the restricted cubic spline plot. Seven observational studies with 4,407 patients were identified for systematic review. When combining our study and previous studies, the association was significant for RDW predicting death (5 studies with 3,366 patients, OR 1.25, 95% CI, 1.15, 1.35), as well as for poor outcome (4 studies with 3,483 patients, OR 1.23, 95% CI, 1.05, 1.44). RDW was an independent predictor of 3-month functional outcome, and a trend of dose-dependent relationship between RDW and 3-month death was detected.

Impact of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D on the Prognosis of Acute Ischemic Stroke: Machine Learning Approach.

Background and Purpose: Vitamin D is a predictor of poor outcome for cardiovascular disease. We evaluated whether serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was associated with poor outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) using machine learning approach.Materials and Methods: We studied a total of 328 patients within 7 days of AIS onset. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was obtained within 24 h of hospital admission. Poor outcome was defined as modified Rankin Scale score of 3–6. Logistic regression and extreme gradient boosting algorithm were used to assess association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with poor outcome. Prediction performances were compared with area under ROC curve and F1 score.Results: Mean age of patients was 67.6 ± 13.3 years. Of 328 patients, 59.1% were men. Median 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was 10.4 (interquartile range, 7.1–14.8) ng/mL and 47.2% of patients were 25-hydroxyvitamin D-deficient (<10 ng/mL). Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency was a predictor for poor outcome in multivariable logistic regression analysis (odds ratio, 3.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.24–9.18, p = 0.017). Stroke severity, age, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D level were also significant predictors in extreme gradient boosting classification algorithm. Performance of extreme gradient boosting algorithm was comparable to those of logistic regression (AUROC, 0.805 vs. 0.746, p = 0.11).Conclusions: 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency was highly prevalent in Korea and low 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was associated with poor outcome in patients with AIS. The machine learning approach of extreme gradient boosting was also useful to assess stroke prognosis along with logistic regression analysis.

The Association Between Serum Apelin-13 and the Prognosis of Acute Ischemic Stroke.

While a number of studies have reported an association between apelin-13 and ischemic stroke, few have verified its clinical effect. We investigated the prognostic value of serum apelin-13 levels in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). We prospectively recruited 244 AIS patients within 24h after stroke onset, and 167 healthy controls. We assessed the serum apelin-13 levels using ELISA, and the severity of AIS using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). The primary outcomes included death or major disability (modified Rankin Scale score, 3-6) and major disability (modified Rankin Scale score, 3-5). Secondary outcomes included recurrent stroke and combined events (all-cause death, or cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events). We found that the serum apelin-13 levels in the patients (38.63ng/mL (interquartile range [IQR], 29.86-50.99)) were lower than those in the healthy controls (42.50ng/mL [IQR, 31.25-59.17]) (P = 0.017). Patients with a NIHSS score ≤ 3 had higher apelin-13 levels than those with a NIHSS score > 3 (P = 0.048). At the 3-month follow-up, multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated an association between apelin-13 and death or major disability (OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.11-0.86; P = 0.024) and major disability (OR 0.32; 95% CI 0.11-0.90; P = 0.030). At the 1-year follow-up, the patients with high apelin-13 levels showed a lower incidence of stroke and combined events (Log-rank test P < 0.05). Our findings indicate that serum apelin-13 may be a potential prognostic biomarker for AIS.

Monocyte-to-High-Density Lipoprotein Ratio Predicts the Outcome of Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Aim: Monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein ratio (MHR) recently emerged as an inflammatory marker and has been reported to be a novel prognostic indicator of cardiovascular diseases. However, the relationship between MHR and prognosis of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) remains unclear.Methods: Consecutive AIS patients were prospectively identified from January 2015 to December 2017. Functional outcome was evaluated by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Poor outcome was defined as of mRS 3–6. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between MHR and poor outcome.Results: A total of 1090 AIS patients within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms were recruited. MHR was higher in poor outcome group compared to that in good outcome group [0.53 (0.37–0.69) vs. 0.48 (0.33–0.60), P = 0.007]. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that higher MHR level was independently associated with the poor outcome at 3 months (OR 2.58, 95% CI, 1.21–5.51, P = 0.015), especially the stroke subtype of large artery atherosclerosis (OR 2.52, 95% CI, 1.03–6.19, P = 0.034). Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis showed that the area under the ROC curves for MHR was 0.67 and the best predictive cutoff value of MHR was 0.51, with a sensitivity of 62.3% and a specificity of 66.5%.Conclusions: MHR may be a significant and independent predictor of poor functional outcome in patients with AIS.

Role of serum ferritin as a prognostic marker in acute ischemic stroke: A preliminary observation.

Background:Acute ischemic stroke is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Search has been on to find out the factors which can help in formulating the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke. One of the prognostic indicators, which has gained great clinical interest in recent times, is serum ferritin.Aims:To assess the serum ferritin levels in patients with acute ischemic stroke and to study the role of serum ferritin as a prognostic marker in these patients.Materials and Methods:This prospective, observational study was conducted on 50 patients of acute ischemic stroke aged ≥18 years who presented within 48 hours of onset of symptoms. Clinical severity of stroke was assessed at admission and on the 6th day using Canadian Stroke Scale (CSS), and serum ferritin levels were measured at admission and on the 6th day in all these subjects.Results:The mean serum ferritin levels at admission in patients with “more severe stroke” (CSS score at admission ≤7) and “less severe stroke” (CSS score at admission >7) were 282.77 ± 120.53 and 205.12 ± 110.96 ng/mL, respectively. The mean serum ferritin levels at admission were 173.71 ± 109.69 ng/mL in subjects who did not deteriorate and 336.86 ± 57.28 ng/mL in those who deteriorated, while the mean serum ferritin levels on the 6th day were 193.29 ± 101.88 and 343.95 ± 52.34 ng/mL in subjects who did not deteriorate and those who deteriorated, respectively.Conclusions:Serum ferritin has a significant positive correlation with the severity of acute ischemic stroke (P < 0.001), and the levels correlate with the outcome of the disease (P < 0.001); the patients with higher serum ferritin at admission tend to deteriorate more as compared to those with lower levels. Thus, serum ferritin can be used as a prognostic marker in acute ischemic stroke.

Higher Peripheral Blood MiR-488 Level Predicts Poor Prognosis of Acute Ischemic Stroke.

The protective role of miR-488 in cerebral neurons has been identified previously. However, whether miR-488 is involved in acute ischemia stroke has not been reported. The current study aims to investigate the expression of miR-488 in the peripheral blood of acute ischemic stroke patients. Seventy-six patients with acute ischemic stroke were selected as the case group, which included 33 cases of aortic atheromatous plaque, 19 cases of cardioembolism, 16 cases of small arterial occlusion, and 8 cases of unknown cause. Sixty healthy subjects were selected as the control group. RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of miR-488 in the peripheral blood of the patients. The NIHSS score was used to evaluate the severity of acute ischemic stroke. The relationship between the miR-488 level and acute stroke was analyzed. Our data showed that the expression of miR-488 in the peripheral blood of the case group was significantly higher than that of the control group. Moreover, the expression level of miR-488 in the case group was not significantly different among groups of different etiology types. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between the miR-488 level and NIHSS scores. Further analysis showed that hypertension, hyperglycemia, platelet count, INR, and miR-488 were risk factors for acute ischemic stroke. Based on TargetScan, a conserved binding site was identified in the 3'UTR of transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily C member 6 (TRPC6). Dual luciferase reporter and western blot assays showed that TRPC6 was a target gene of miR-488. In summary, the high expression of miR-488 in the peripheral blood of patients with acute ischemic stroke is closely related to the severity of the disease.

CORRELATION BETWEEN PROTHROMBIN TIME, ACTIVATED PARTIAL THROMBOPLASTIN TIME AND D – DIMER WITH PROGNOSIS OF ACUTE ISCHEMIC STROKE IN ADAM MALIK HOSPITAL MEDAN

Background: The state of hypercoagulation is the basis for thrombosis and significant for the occurrence of ischemic stroke. About 80% of ischemic strokes, the basis of which is atherothrombosis in large blood vessels, microateromes in small blood vessels, and emboli from the heart. Objectives: To determine the relationship between prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time and d-dimer with the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke. Methods: This study uses a cross sectional design. Sampling was carried out at H. Adam Malik General Hospital Medan. The study sample was taken as many as 40 subjects consecutively. To determine the difference in prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and d-dimer levels and NIHSS scores paired t tests were used if the data were normally distributed and the Wilcoxon test if the data were not normally distributed. And determine the relationship between prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time and d-dimer with NIHSS scores on the first and seventh days the Spearman correlation was used. Results: Demographic characteristics of the subjects are the average age of 52-&lt;68 years, the level of high school education, the work of housewives and farmers and the Batak tribe. There is no significant relationship between PT firts day and NIHSS score first day and there is no significant relationship between PT seventh day and NIHSS score seventh day. There is no significant relationship between APTT first day and NIHSS first day score and there is no significant relationship between APTT seventh day and NIHSS score seventh day. There is a significant relationship between D-dimer first day and NIHSS first day score and there is a significant relationship between D-dimer seventh day and NIHSS score seventh day. Conclusions: There is a significant relationship between d-dimer with NIHSS scores on the first day and seventh days in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Association of circulating long non-coding RNA MALAT1 in diagnosis, disease surveillance, and prognosis of acute ischemic stroke.

We aimed to investigate the association of long non-coding RNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (lnc-MALAT1) with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), and its association with disease severity, inflammation, and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in AIS patients. One hundred and twenty AIS patients and 120 controls were recruited. Venous blood samples from AIS patients (within 24 h after symptoms onset) and controls (at entry to study) were collected to detect plasma lnc-MALAT1 expression by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. AIS severity was assessed by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score. Plasma concentrations of inflammation factors (including C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17, and IL-22) were measured and RFS was calculated. lnc-MALAT1 expression was decreased in AIS patients compared to controls, and it had a close correlation with AIS (AUC=0.791, 95% CI: 0.735-0.846). For disease condition, lnc-MALAT1 expression negatively correlated with NIHSS score and pro-inflammatory factor expression (including CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-22), while it positively correlated with anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 expression. Furthermore, lnc-MALAT1 expression was elevated in AIS patients with diabetes. For prognosis, no statistical correlation of lnc-MALAT1 expression with RFS was found, while a trend for longer RFS was observed in patients with lnc-MALAT1 high expression compared to those with lnc-MALAT1 low expression.