[The role of inflammation in the development of post-stroke depression in elderly patients.]

The aim of the study was to study the role of cytokines, the ratio of neutrophils and lymphocytes in the development of post-stroke depression in elderly patients. The study included 110 patients with acute ischemic stroke, including 60 middle-aged people (52±5 years) and 50 elderly people (66±4 years). The control group consisted of 20 middle-aged people without a history of stroke. After 3 months of follow-up, post-stroke depression (PSD) developed in the elderly in 28 patients (56%), in the middle age in 26 patients (43,3%). Patients with ischemic stroke in the elderly who developed PSD were significantly older (7,9%, p<0,05), more often had arterial hypertension (12,4%, p<0,05), the level of glucose was 16,1% higher (p<0,05), triglycerides by 14% (p<0,05), LDL-C by 12,8% (p<0,05). In middle age, patients with post-stroke depression had a body mass index higher by 8,1% (p<0,05), a glucose level by 9,6% (p<0,05), triglycerides by 10,9% (p<0,05), LDL-C by 9,7% (p<0,05) than patients without PSD. Elderly patients with ischemic stroke and PSD had higher levels of cytokines - IL-1β was 35,4% higher (p<0,01), TNF-α by 27% (p<0,01), INF-γ by 18% (p<0,01) than in patients without PSD. In elderly patients with PSD, the ratio of neutrophils and lymphocytes (N/L) is 46% (p<0,001) higher than in patients without PSD. In the elderly, in the presence of PSD, the N/L ratio was 50% (p<0,001) higher than in the same middle-aged group. Thus, in elderly patients with ischemic stroke, the level of inflammatory markers may have a prognostic value in the development of post-stroke depression.