Evaluation of analytic and clinical performance of thrombin-antithrombin complex and D-dimer assay in prognosis of acute ischemic stroke

Biochemical, biomechanical and imaging biomarkers of ischemic stroke: Time for integrative thinking

Stroke is one of the leading causes of adult disability affecting millions of people worldwide. Post-stroke cognitive and motor impairments diminish quality of life and functional independence. There is an increased risk of having a second stroke and developing secondary conditions with long-term social and economic impacts. With increasing number of stroke incidents, shortage of medical professionals and limited budgets, health services are struggling to provide a care that can break the vicious cycle of stroke. Effective post-stroke recovery hinges on holistic, integrative and personalized care starting from improved diagnosis and treatment in clinics to continuous rehabilitation and support in the community. To improve stroke care pathways, there have been growing efforts in discovering biomarkers that can provide valuable insights into the neural, physiological and biomechanical consequences of stroke and how patients respond to new interventions. In this review paper, we aim to summarize recent biomarker discovery research focusing on three modalities (brain imaging, blood sampling and gait assessments), look at some established and forthcoming biomarkers, and discuss their usefulness and complementarity within the context of comprehensive stroke care. We also emphasize the importance of biomarker guided personalized interventions to enhance stroke treatment and post-stroke recovery.

Value of novel thrombotic markers for predicting occurrence of the malignant cerebral artery infarction: a prospective clinical study

Objective

This study investigated the diagnostic performance of thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT), plasmin-α2 plasmin inhibitor complex (PIC), tissue plasminogen activator-plasminogen activator inhibitor complex (t-PAIC), and thrombomodulin (TM) in predicting the progression of massive cerebral infarction to the malignant cerebral artery infarction.

Method

A total of 71 patients with massive cerebral infarction confirmed by imaging examination were divided into malignant cerebral artery infarction group (MCAI) and non-malignant cerebral artery infarction group (NMCAI) based on whether they progressed to MCAI after admission. TAT, PIC, t-PAIC, and TM were measured immediately after admission. The predictive performance was analyzed by the receiver characteristic operating curve (ROC).

Result

The median plasma concentrations of TM, PIC, TAT, and t-PAIC in the MCAI patients at admission were 10.65 IU/mL, 1.17 μg/mL, 12.25 ng/mL, and 13.85 ng/mL, respectively, which were higher than those in the NMCAI patients (9.00 IU/mL, 1.07 μg/mL, 4.60 ng/mL, and 8.70 ng/mL), and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.045, p = 0.035, p = 0.004, and p = 0.003). Elevated plasma t-PAIC concentration was shown to be an independent risk factor for progression of massive cerebral infarction to MCAI (OR = 1.131) by multivariate logistic regression analysis. ROC curve analysis showed that t-PAIC was the best predictor of MCAI (AUC = 74.7%), with a sensitivity of 75.0% and specificity of 75.9% when t-PAIC concentration was ≥12.4 ng/mL; TAT had the highest specificity in predicting MCAI, with a specificity of 90.7% when the TAT concentration was ≥13.5 ng/mL.

Conclusion

The detection of PIC, TAT, t-PAIC, and TM is a comprehensive assessment of vascular endothelial damage and activation of the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems and has predictive value for poor prognosis in patients with MCAI. The widespread use of these tests will likely greatly improve the early diagnosis rate of MCAI.

Potential role of plasma branched-chain amino acids in the differential diagnosis of acute cerebral venous thrombosis

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a special and easily misdiagnosed or undiagnosed subtype of stroke. To identify specific biomarkers with a high predictive ability for the diagnosis of acute CVT, we performed metabolomic analysis in plasma samples from acute CVT patients and healthy controls and confirmed the results in validation cohorts. In the discovery stage, there were 343 differential metabolites, and the caffeine metabolism pathway and the biosynthesis pathway for the branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) valine, leucine, and isoleucine were two significant pathways between the CVT and healthy cohorts. The area under the curve (AUC) for metabolites associated with valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis was 0.934. In the validation stage, the BCAA concentrations demonstrated an AUC of 0.935 to differentiate patients with acute CVT from the control cohort. In addition, BCAAs combined with D-dimer levels were used to establish a diagnostic model for CVT, and the AUC was 0.951, showing good diagnostic efficacy of separating CVT patients from the control cohort. BCAAs as plasma biomarkers deserve to be further studied and even developed in clinical CVT management.

Effect of plasma thrombin-antithrombin complex on ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT) is a prethrombotic marker, and its application in ischemic stroke is still uncertain. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the relationship between plasma TAT and ischemic stroke base on the current evidence.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was conducted for searching the relative studies that investigated the association of TAT and ischemic stroke in PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane library databases. Mean difference and 95% confidence interval as the effect sizes were synthesized by random effects model in Review Manager (RevMan) Version 5.4. The heterogeneity was investigated using the chi-square test and the possible sources of heterogeneity were explored by sensitivity analysis and meta-regression. The publication bias was estimated by Egger's tests.

RESULTS

A total of 12 eligible studies were included involving 1431 stroke cases and 532 healthy controls, of which six studies were eventually included in the meta-analysis. Plasma TAT in patients with ischemic stroke was significantly higher than that in healthy controls (MD 5.31, 95% CI = 4.12-6.51, P < 0.0001, I² = 97.8%). There is a difference of TAT level in the same period among cardioembolic, lacunar, and atherothrombotic stroke (all P < 0.0001), in which the cardioembolic stroke with the highest level. Meanwhile, it is significant of TAT levels among various phases of cardioembolic stroke and the acute phase are markedly elevated (MD 7.75, 95CI%, 6.07-9.43, P < 0.001). However, no difference was found in the atherothrombotic (P = 0.13) and lacunar stroke (P = 0.34). Besides, the higher TAT level is closely related to the poor prognosis of patients with ischemic stroke, including higher recurrence, mortality, unfavorable recovery (modified Rankin scale > 2), and poor revascularization.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggested that plasma TAT levels are different in ischemic stroke subtypes, which are closely associated with the progression and might have an effect on the prognosis.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD: 42021248787.

The Role of Biomarkers in Atherothrombotic Stroke-A Systematic Review

Stroke represents the primary debilitating disease in adults and is the second-highest cause of death worldwide. Atherosclerosis, the most prevalent etiology for vascular conditions, is a continuous process that gradually creates and develops endothelial lesions known as atherosclerotic plaques. These lesions lead to the appearance of atherothrombotic stroke. In the last decades, the role of biological biomarkers has emerged as either diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic targets. This article aims to create a list of potential biomarkers related to atherothrombotic stroke by reviewing the currently available literature. We identified 23 biomarkers and assessed their roles as risk factors, detection markers, prognostic predictors, and therapeutic targets. The central aspect of these biomarkers is related to risk stratification, especially for patients who have not yet suffered a stroke. Other valuable data are focused on the predictive capabilities for stroke patients regarding short-term and long-term prognosis, including their influence over the acute phase treatment, such as rt-PA thrombolysis. Although the role of biomarkers is anticipated to be of extreme value in the future, they cannot yet compete with traditional stroke neuroimaging markers but could be used as additional tools for etiological diagnosis.

A Systematic Review of the Predictive Value of Plasma D-Dimer Levels for Predicting Stroke Outcome

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Over the past decade, plasma D-dimer levels have emerged as a biomarker for predicting stroke outcome. However, no consensus in the literature currently exists concerning its utility for predicting post-stroke functional outcome and mortality. Objective: To systematically review the effectiveness of plasma D-dimer levels for predicting functional outcome and mortality following stroke. Methods: Five academic databases were screened according to PRISMA guidelines for eligible studies. With these studies, we conducted a random-effect meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of plasma D-dimer levels for predicting functional outcome and mortality post-stroke. We also conducted subgroup analyses to evaluate differences in predictive capacity for different stroke subtypes. Results: Nineteen studies were included, containing data on 5,781 stroke patients (mean age: 65.26 ± 6.4 years). Overall methodological quality for the included studies was high. Meta-analysis showed that increased D-dimer levels were predictive of worsened functional outcomes (Hazard ratio: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.63-2.93) and elevated overall mortality (2.29, 1.35-3.88). Subgroup analysis showed that plasma D-dimer levels were more predictive of poorer functional outcomes for ischemic (2.08, 1.36-3.18) stroke as compared to intracerebral hemorrhage (2.62, 1.65-4.17). We also noted that predictive capacity was similar when it came to mortality in patients with cryptogenic ischemic stroke (2.65, 0.87-8.08) and intracerebral hemorrhage (2.63, 1.50-4.59). Conclusion: The study provides preliminary evidence concerning the capacity of plasma D-dimer levels for predicting functional outcomes and mortality following stroke and reports that higher D-dimer levels of are associated with poorer functional outcomes and higher mortality.