Levels of acute phase proteins remain stable after ischemic stroke

Inflammation and inflammatory biomarkers play an important role in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Little information is available, however, on time course of serum markers of inflammation after stroke.

First ischemic stroke patients > or =40 years old had levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), and fibrinogen measured in plasma samples drawn at 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after stroke. Levels were log-transformed as needed, and parametric and non-parametric statistical tests were used to test for evidence of a trend in levels over time. Levels of hsCRP and SAA were also compared with levels in a comparable population of stroke-free participants.

Mean age of participants with repeated measures (n = 21) was 65.6 +/- 11.6 years, and 13 (61.9%) were men, and 15 (71.4%) were Hispanic. Approximately 75% of patients (n = 15) had mild strokes (NIH Stroke Scale score 0-5). There was no evidence of a time trend in levels of hsCRP, SAA, or fibrinogen for any of the markers during the 28 days of follow-up. Mean log(hsCRP) was 1.67 +/- 1.07 mg/L (median hsCRP 6.48 mg/L) among stroke participants and 1.00 +/- 1.18 mg/L (median 2.82 mg/L) in a group of 1176 randomly selected stroke-free participants from the same community (p = 0.0252).

Levels of hsCRP are higher in stroke patients than in stroke-free subjects. Levels of inflammatory biomarkers associated with atherosclerosis, including hsCRP, appear to be stable for at least 28 days after first ischemic stroke.