Acute cerebral infarction in a patient with nodular glomerulopathy--atypical features and differential diagnosis

Plasma miR-409-3p promotes acute cerebral infarction via suppressing CTRP3

Abnormal expression of miR-409-3p has been found in several neurodevelopmental disorders, but whether it is dysregulated in the patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI) has not been evaluated. The current study mainly focused on the clinical significance and the underlying mechanism of plasma miR-409-3p in the progression of ACI. The level of plasma miR-409-3p was determined in ACI patients (n = 80) and healthy controls (n = 30). Pearson correlation assay was performed to evaluate the association and cardiovascular risk factors. A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of plasma miR-409-3p levels in patients with ACI. Dual luciferase reporter assay and western blot were performed to determine the possible target gene of miR-409-3p. Our data showed that the expression of plasma miR-409-3p in the ACI group was higher than that in the healthy controls. Furthermore, Pearson correlation analysis indicated a positive correlation between plasma miR-409-3p and the NIHSS score. ROC analysis indicated that plasma miR-409-3p could differentiate plasma miR-409-3p in ACI patients from healthy controls. Then, we explored the possible target genes of miR-409-3p. Interestingly, C1q and TNF-related 3 (CTRP3), a novel adipose tissue-derived secreted factor, was found to be a target gene of miR-409-3p. We found that knockdown of CTRP3 significantly induced PC12 cell apoptosis, even in PC12 cells transfected with miR-409-3p inhibitor. These data suggested that miR-409-3p induced PC12 cell apoptosis by targeting CTRP3. Altogether, elevated plasma miR-409-3p is correlated with disease severity and may be efficient for the early diagnosis of ACI.

Acute ischemic stroke associated with nephrotic syndrome: Incidence and significance - Retrospective cohort study

We report 10 cases with arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) with nephrotic syndrome (NS), and clarified its incidence and clinical characteristics. The patients having albumin less than 3.0 g/dl and serum cholesterol greater than 250 mg/dl at the same time were retrospectively screened from 11,161 cases of stroke. Furthermore, the patients of AIS showing heavy proteinuria were selected. The 10 cases were diagnosed as AIS with NS. Its incidence was 0.09% of all kinds of stroke and 0.12% of AIS. Their subtypes were 6 large-artery atherosclerosis, 3 small-vessel occlusion, and 1 cardioembolism. We carried out a retrospective cohort study to assess the association between NS and atherosclerosis progression in AIS patients. Seven AIS patients with NS due to diabetic nephropathy (cases; NS group) were compared with patients with AIS and diabetes mellitus (DM) without NS (control group). Control group subjects were matched in a 2:1 ratio to cases by age, sex, use of medications for DM, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level. The NS group had high cerebral artery atherosclerosis scores, especially in the anterior circulation. The NS group demonstrated atherosclerosis of the internal carotid and lower extremity arteries, although there were no statistical differences between the two groups. Study subjects had high serum fibrinogen and D-dimer levels, suggesting that AIS patients with NS have a greater degree of hypercoagulability than AIS patients without NS.

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We report 10 cases with arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) with nephrotic syndrome (NS).

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The incidence AIS with NS was clarified.

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By a retrospective cohort study, AIS with NS showed atherosclerosis progression comparing the controls.

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AIS patients with NS have a greater degree of hypercoagulability than AIS patients without NS.