Correlative study between neuron-specific enolase and blood sugar level in ischemic stroke patients

A study to investigate the level of the neurobiochemical marker, Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE), at the time of admission and its correlation with the blood sugar level in ischemic stroke patients.

We investigated 90 patients with complete stroke who were admitted to the Stroke Unit of the Department of Neurology at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences. NSE was measured with commercially available quantitative 'sandwich' enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits obtained from R and D Systems. Hyperglycemia was defined as blood glucose concentration ≥ 7 mmol / L, and measured using the glucose oxidase method immediately.

Significantly increased NSE and lipid profile levels were found in ischemic stroke patients as compared to the control. Hyperglycemic ischemic stroke patients had increased levels of NSE, lipid profile, and National Institute of Health stroke scale scores (NIHSS score) compared to normoglycemic ischemic stroke patients. In addition the serum NSE level of hyperglycemic stroke patients was also positively correlated with the blood sugar level (r = 0.734 P < 0.001).

Hyperglycemia predicts an increased risk of poor outcome after ischemic stroke and it is reflected by a significantly increased level of Neuron-Specific Enolase.