Analysis of the Association between Telomere Length and Neurological Disability in Stroke Types

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Genetics
• Biomarkers

Background:

• Neurological disability and prognosis in stroke patients are influenced by telomere length (TL).
• Limited research exists on TL's association with specific stroke types and ischemic stroke subgroups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between telomere length (TL) and neurological disability across different stroke types.
• To analyze this association within ischemic stroke subgroups.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study of 271 stroke patients admitted to a single-center emergency department.
• Evaluation of neurological disability using the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS).
• Multivariate analysis to assess associations between TL and disability in ischemic stroke subgroups.

Main Results:

• Short TL correlated with higher NIHSS scores at ED visit and 1 day later in ischemic stroke patients.
• In the other determined (OD) or undetermined (UD) etiology groups, short TL was associated with higher NIHSS scores at ED visit and 1 day post-visit.
• Adjusted odds ratios indicated significant associations between short TL and increased neurological impairment.

Conclusions:

• Telomere length (TL) is significantly associated with early neurological disability in ischemic stroke.
• The association between TL and neurological disability is more pronounced in stroke patients with undetermined or other determined etiologies (UD/OD).