Fatty acid binding protein 4 is associated with stroke risk and severity in patients with acute ischemic stroke

The role of fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) in atherosclerosis has been investigated. The aim of this study was to verify the hypothesis that higher levels of serum FABP4 could be a biomarker for stroke and associated with stroke severity in Chinese patients with ischemic stroke.

All consecutive patients with first-ever acute ischemic stroke from September 2015 to August 2016 were recruited to participate in the study. Serum FABP4 levels and routine tests were examined at admission. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was assessed on admission blinded to FABP4 levels.

We recorded 277 stroke patients. There was a significant difference in median serum FABP4 levels between stroke patients and control cases (P<0.001). Serum FABP4 levels increased with increasing severity of stroke as defined by the NIHSS score. The result illustrates the time course of serum FABP4, showing significant changes with day of sampling, with peak levels on day 1, falling to a plateau by days 2 to 5. At admission, 129 patients (46.6%) had a minor stroke (NIHSS≤5). In these patients, the median serum FABP4 level was lower than that observed in patients with moderate-to-sever clinical severity (P<0.001). In multivariate models comparing the second, third, and fourth quartiles against the first quartile of the FABP4, levels of FABP4 were associated with stroke risk and severity.

High levels of FABP4 are significantly related to stroke risk and severity, independent from other traditional and emerging risk factors, suggesting that they may play a role in stroke pathogenesis.