Summary
Few studies have examined the relationship between inflammatory biomarker blood levels,
cardioembolic stroke subtype and neurological deficit. So the aim of our study is
to evaluate plasma levels of immuno-inflammatory variables in patients with cardio-embolic
acute ischaemic stroke compared to other diagnostic subtypes and to evaluate the relationship
between immuno-inflammatory variables, acute neurological deficit and brain infarct
volume. One hundred twenty patients with acute ischaemic stroke and 123 controls without
a diagnosis of acute ischaemic stroke were evaluated. The type of acute ischaemic
stroke was classified according to the TOAST classification. We evaluated plasma levels
of IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10, E-selectin, P-selectin, sICAM-1,sVCAM-1, vWF, TPA
and PAI-1. Patients with ischaemic stroke classified as cardio-embolic (CEI) showed,
compared to other subtypes, significantly higher median plasma levels of TNF-α , IL-6
and IL-1β. Furthermore stroke patients classified as lacunar showed, compared to other
subtypes, significantly lower median plasma levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β. Multiple
linear regression showed a significant association between the Scandinavian Stroke
Scale (SSS) score at admission and diagnostic subtype, infarct volume of cardio-embolic
strokes and some inflammatory variables. Our findings confirm that cardio-embolic
strokes have a worse clinical presentation and produce larger and more disabling strokes
than other ischaemic stroke subtypes reporting a possible explanation of higher immuno-inflammatory
activation of the acute phase.
Keywords
Cerebral infarct - cerebrovascular accident - cerebrovascular disease - inflammation
- risk factors - stroke - cytokines