Risk Factors, Clinical Features and Prognosis for Subtypes of Ischemic Stroke in a Chinese Population

It is unanimously accepted that stroke is a highly heterogeneous disorder. Different subtypes of ischemic stroke may have different risk factors, clinical features, and prognoses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk factors, clinical characteristics, and prognoses of different subtypes of ischemic stroke defined by the Trial of ORG10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment （TOAST） criteria. We prospectively analyzed the data from 530 consecutive patients who were admitted to our hospital with acute ischemic stroke within 7 days of stroke onset during the study period. Standardized data assessment was used and the cause of ischemic stroke was classified according to the TOAST criteria. Patients were followed up till 30 and 90 days after stroke onset. It was found that large-artery atherosclerosis was the most frequent etiology of stroke （37.4%）, and showed the highest male preponderance, the highest prevalence of previous transient ischemic attack, and the longest hospital stay among all subtypes. Small artery disease （36.4%） was associated with higher body mass index, higher plasma triglycerides, and lower plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol than cardioembolism. Cardioembolism （7.7%）, which was particularly common in the elderly （i.e., individuals aged 65 years and older）, showed the highest female preponderance, the highest prevalence of atrial fibrillation, the earliest presentation to hospital after stroke onset, the most severe symptoms on admission, the maximum complications associated with an adverse outcome, and the highest rate of stroke recurrence and mortality. Our results suggest that ischemic stroke should be regarded as a highly heterogeneous disorder. Studies involving risk factors, clinical features, and prognoses of ischemic stroke should differentiate between etiologic stroke subtypes.

Systematic review of risk factors for progressive ischemic stroke

OBJECTIVE： To determine the risk factors for progressive ischemic stroke, and to prevent onset and make a prognosis of disease, the present study systemically evaluated 19 cohort studies and 10 case-controlled studies of progressive ischemic stroke. SEARCH STRATEGY： A computer-based, online, literature search of PubMed （1966/2007）, China Biological Medicine Database （CBM-disc, 1979/2007） and CNKI （www.cnki.net, 1979/2007） was performed to screen for related studies. DATA SELECTION： Cohort or case-controlled studies that focused on risk factors of progressive ischemic stroke were selected for review. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality according to Cochrane Collaboration guidelines. Statistical analysis was performed using RevMan software. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT： Risk factors for progressive ischemic stroke. RESULTS： Using the inclusion criteria, 29/781 studies published in English and Chinese were initially reviewed, including 19 cohort studies and 10 case-control studies. Despite variations in determination of progressive ischemic stroke and the intervals between 2 evaluations, all studies described the diagnostic criteria for progressive ischemic stroke. Logistic analysis was employed in 20 of the studies. Meta-analysis of primary data in the related studies determined that the following factors that significantly correlated with progressive ischemic stroke： fever [risk ratio （RR） = 2.26, 95% confidence interval （CO： 1.20-4.26, P = 0.01; odds ratio （OR） = 2.85, 95% CI： 1.64-4.98, P 〈 0.01 ）]; diabetes （RR = 1.38, 95% CI： 1.18-1.61, P 〈 0.01 ; OR = 2.48, 95% Ch 1.93-3.19, P 〈 0.01 ）; coronary heart disease （RR = 1.22, 95% CI： 1.08-1.38, P 〈 0.01）; neuroimaging transformation （RR= 1.55, 95%CI： 1.34-1.80, P〈 0.01; OR= 2.29, 95% CI： 1.47-3.58, P〈 0.01）; and hyperglycemia （RR = 2.62, 95% CI： 1.86-3.68, P 〈 0.01 ; OR = 3.49, 95% CI： 1.92-6.35, P 〈 0.01）. CONCLUSION： Fever, diabetes, coronary heart disease, neuroimaging transformation, and hyperglycemia are important risk factors for progressive ischemic stroke. Interventions for these risk factors could effectively prevent occurrence of progressive ischemic stroke.

Risk factors for progressive ischemic stroke: A retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND： Progressive ischemic stroke has higher fatality rate and disability rate than common cerebral infarction, thus it is very significant to investigate the early predicting factors related to the occurrence of progressive ischemic stroke, the potential pathological mechanism and the risk factors of early intervention for preventing the occurrence of progressive ischemic stroke and ameliorating its outcome. OBJECTIVE： To analyze the possible related risk factors in patients with progressive ishcemic stroke, so as to provide reference for the prevention and treatment of progressive ishcemic stroke. DESIGN： A retrospective analysis. SETTING： Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Beijing Coal Mining Group. PARTICIPANTS： Totally 280 patients with progressive ischemic stroke were selected from the Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Beijing Coal Mining Group from March 2002 to June 2006, including 192 males and 88 females, with a mean age of （62±7） years old. They were all accorded with the diagnostic standards for cerebral infarction set by the Fourth National Academic Meeting for Cerebrovascular Disease in 1995, and confired by CT or MRI, admitted within 24 hours after attack, and the neurological defect progressed gradually or aggravated in gradients within 72 hours after attack, and the aggravation of neurological defect was defined as the neurological deficit score decreased by more than 2 points. Meanwhile, 200 inpatients with non-progressive ischemic stroke （135 males and 65 females） were selected as the control group. METHODS： After admission, a univariate analysis of variance was conducted using the factors of blood pressure, history of diabetes mellitus, fever, leukocytosis, levels of blood lipids, fibrinogen, blood glucose and plasma homocysteine, cerebral arterial stenosis, and CT symptoms of early infarction, and the significant factors were involved in the multivariate non-conditional Logistic regression analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Results of the univariate analysis of variance of the factors related to progressive ischemic stroke; Results of the multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS： All the 480 patients were involved in the analysis of results. ① Results of the univariate analysis variance： There were significantly more patients with fever, leukocytosis, history of diabetes mellitus, cerebral arterial stenosis and CT symptoms of early infarction in the progressive ischemic stroke group than in the control group （P 〈 0.01）; The levels of blood glucose and fibrinogen in the progressive ischemic stroke group were significantly higher than those in the control group, while the level of blood pressure was significantly lower than that in the control group （P 〈 0.05 - 0.01）. ② Results of the multivariate Logistic regression analysis： The independent predicting factors for progressive ischemic stroke were history of diabetes mellitus, fever, leukocytosis, cerebral arterial stenosis, CT symptoms of early infarction, blood glucose and blood pressure （OR =2.61,2.96, 3.79, 1.03, 3.57, 2.68, 95% CI 0.92 - 3.59, P 〈 0.05 - 0.01）. CONCLUSION： History of diabetes mellitus, fever, leukocytosis, levels of blood pressure, blood glucose, cerebral arterial stenosis and CT symptoms of early infarction are the risk factors for progress ischemic stroke

<i>NOS</i>3 894G >T Gene Polymorphism: A Potential Risk Factor of Stroke in Bahraini Patients

The endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) encoded by the NOS3 gene is responsible for the synthesis of a vasoactive endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO). The genetic polymorphism of this gene explains, in part, why some people are prone to develop stroke than others. In this study we conducted a case control study in Bahrainis to investigate “for the first time” the relationship between NOS3 894G > T (rs1799983) and 786T > C (rs2070744) polymorphisms with the stroke predisposition in Bahraini population. Detection of NOS3 polymorphism was performed by PCR RFLP genotyping method. The level of NO among cases and controls was measured using ELISA. A total of 93 unrelated stroke patients and 86 controls were included in the study. The three types of stroke;Ischemic, hemorrhagic and transient ischemic attack were reported (91.4%, 7.5% and 1.1% respectively). No significant gender difference was observed (P = 0.74). Having previous stroke was a highly significant risk factor of the disease (P = 0.001, OR = 1.4), where as a family history of stroke was not (OR = 0.11). The analysis provides evidence that the mutant 894GT + TT genotypes of NOS3 894G > T polymorphism were positively associated with stroke predisposition and it increased the risk of stroke nearly two folds (P = 0.037, OR = 1.936). Although we found an association between the mutant genotype786 TC + CC of the NOS3 786T > C polymorphism with the susceptibility to stroke (P = 0.023) suggesting that the mutant C allele might have a protective effect against stroke in this population, the strength of this association was rather low (OR = 0.484). The level of NO in stroke patients was significantly low compared to healthy controls (P 0.005). Diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases were reported in stroke patients (67%, 71.4% and 52.1% respectively). More over 50% of the cases with previous stroke are both diabetic and hypertensive. This indicates that these diseases could be considered as a significant factor in the development of stroke in this population. We concluded that the NOS3-894 G > T polymorphism is a potential risk factor of stroke in Bahraini population, whereas as the NOS3 786T > C polymorphism might have a possible protective role against the disease in this population.

Risk Factors and Prediction of Stroke in a Population with High Prevalence of Diabetes: The Strong Heart Study

Background and Objective: American Indians have a high prevalence of diabetes and higher incidence of stroke than that of whites and blacks in the U.S. Stroke risk prediction models based on data from American Indians would be of clinical and public health value. Methods and Results: A total of 3483 (2043 women) Strong Heart Study participants free of stroke at baseline were followed from 1989 to 2010 for incident stroke. Overall, 297 stroke cases (179 women) were identified. Cox models with stroke-free time and risk factors recorded at baseline were used to develop stroke risk prediction models. Assessment of the developed stroke risk prediction models regarding discrimination and calibration was performed by an analogous C-statistic (C) and a version of the Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic (HL), respectively, and validated internally through use of Bootstrapping methods. Results: Age, smoking status, alcohol consumption, waist circumference, hypertension status, antihypertensive therapy, fasting plasma glucose, diabetes medications, high/low density lipoproteins, urinary albumin/creatinine ratio, history of coronary heart disease/heart failure, atrial fibrillation, or Left ventricular hypertrophy, and parental history of stroke were identified as the significant optimal risk factors for incident stroke. Discussion: The models produced a C = 0.761 and HL = 4.668 (p = 0.792) for women, and a C = 0.765 and HL = 9.171 (p = 0.328) for men, showing good discrimination and calibration. Conclusions: Our stroke risk prediction models provide a mechanism for stroke risk assessment designed for American Indians. The models may be also useful to other populations with high prevalence of obesity and/or diabetes for screening individuals for risk of incident stroke and designing prevention programs.

State level correlations between high heart attack and stroke symptomology knowledge scores and CVD risk factors and mortality rates

Introduction: In 2008, cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounted for one in three deaths in the United States. Epidemiological analyses suggest that two or more risk factors are the indicator of high risk and/or poor CVD outcomes. Knowledge of heart attack and stroke symptomology has been the focus of much research based on the assumption that accurate identification of an event is critical to reducing time to treatment. There is a paucity of research showing a clear association between knowledge of heart attack and stroke symptomology, risk factors, and mortality rates. In this study, we hypothesized that high stroke and heart attack symptomology knowledge scores would correspond to lower stroke or CVD mortality rankings as well as to a lower prevalence of two or more CVD risk factors. Methods: State was the unit of analysis used to examine data from two different sources and combined into a customized database. The first source was a multiyear Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) heart attack and stroke symptom knowledge module database. CVD and stroke mortality data used came from the American Heart Association’s (AHA) 2012 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update. Spearman’s Rho was the test statistic. Results: A moderate negative correlation was found between high heart attack and stroke symptom knowledge scores and the percentage of adults with two or more CVD or stroke risk factors. Likewise, a similar correlation resulted from the two variables, high heart attack and stroke symptoms knowledge score and CVD mortality rank. Conclusions: This study demonstrated a significant relationship between high heart attack and stroke symptom knowledge and lower CVD mortality rates and lower prevalence of two or more CVD risk factors at the state level. Our findings suggest that it is important to continue education efforts regarding heart attack and stroke symptom knowledge. Pharmacists are one group of health care providers who could enhance the needed public health education efforts.

Profile of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Nigerians with Stroke

Background: There is paucity of data on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among stroke patients in our population. This study aimed at assessing CVD risk factors amongst stroke patients compared with apparently healthy controls. Methods: This was a case-control study conducted at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano. One hundred stroke subjects were consecutively recruited and compared with 100 age and sex matched controls. The CVD risk factors assessed were hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, obesity, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, socioeconomic status (SES), increased age, male gender and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) status. Results: Mean age was 56.4 ± 15.8 years for cases and 54.5 ± 15.4 years for controls (p = 0.39), and 53% of the former and 52% of the latter were males (p = 0.887). The most prevalent CVD risk factor was hypertension, found in 71% of cases and 42% of the controls, (p = 0.01). All heart diseases were found in 70% of cases and 21% of controls (p < 0.001), and hypertensive heart disease (HHD) was the commonest, found in 55% of cases and 18% of controls (p < 0.001). Dyslipidemia was found in 53% of cases and 37% of the controls (p = 0.023), diabetes mellitus/hyperglycemia in 23% of the cases and 6% of the controls (p = 0.01), history of transient ischemic attack (TIA) in 19% of cases and 1% of the controls (p = 0.01), while atrial fibrillation was found in 9% of cases only. Other risk factors were uncommon. Conclusion: The most frequent CVD risk factors among Nigerians with stroke were systemic hypertension, heart diseases, male sex and dyslipidemia, while HIV and other risk factors were uncommon. Thus medical attention and public enlightenment should focus on the common ones as detected in this study.

Risk Factors for Stroke in Sulaimaniyah Iraqi Kurdistan Region-Iraq

Background: Stroke is a frequent medical problem and a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Several conditions and lifestyle factors have been associated with stroke. Aim: To evaluate risk factors in stroke patients in Sulaimani city. Results: 110 patients with stroke were included in this study, hypertension was found to be the most common risk factor in current study. Out of 110 cases, 83 (75.5%) were hypertensive. Peak stroke-prone age was (60 - 69) year for male, (70 - 79) year for female. We found a statistically significant relation between level of TSC, LDL with ischemic stroke (r = 0.4047, P Conclusion: Hypertension is the leading risk factor of stroke. It is therefore essential to detect and treat hypertension at its outset. High value of atherogenic index mostly associated with ischemic stroke .while no relation found with haemorhagic stroke.

Risk Factors and Outcome of Overt Stroke in Sickle Cell Patients Admitted in Two Reference Hospitals in Yaounde and Douala

Background: Worldwide, the prevalence of sickle cell disease (SCD) as of 2016 was estimated at 2%;that is 300,000 births annually. This study was focused on homozygous sickle cell disease which leads to several complications notably hemolytic crises, aplastic crises and vaso-occlusive crises like stroke. Sickle cell disease is the most common cause of childhood stroke. Stroke occurs in 17% - 24% of sickle cell children worldwide. Objectives: To determine the risk factors for overt stroke and outcome at discharge in sickle cell disease patients admitted in two reference hospitals in Cameroon. Method: This was a case-control study in two reference hospitals in Yaounde and Douala, carried out over the duration of 4 months, covering a 5-year period (December 2013 to December 2018). Included in the study, were all homozygous sickle cell children aged 6 months to 16 years during that period with or without stroke. A total of 1734 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Out of these, 49 stroke patients participated and 687 were selected as controls. Data was collected from the patients’ files and books on a pretested data collection form, then entered in the software C.S Pro 7.1 before analysis. Stroke outcome at discharge was assessed using the modified Rankin scale (mRs) with structured interview. A patient was classified as good outcome if mRs < 3 and poor outcome if mRs ≥ 3. Statistical analysis was done with SPSS software version 22.0 for Windows. Results: A total of 736 patients participated in the study. Out of these, 391 (53.1%) were males and 345 (46.9%) were females. Overt stroke was found to have an estimated hospital prevalence of 3.29% in this population. Several risk and associated factors were identified such as frequent rate of acute chest syndrome (p < 0.001), acute chest syndrome in the past 2 weeks (p = 0.001), low steady state haemoglobin (p < 0.001) and previous stroke (p = 0.002). A poor outcome was observed in 16 (32.7%) of them. Conclusion: The occurrence of stroke in this population is 3.29% and several factors were associated with its occurrence.

Risk Factors for Prevention Stroke (IS or TIA) Due to Cerebral Infarction in Young Adults: A Meta-Analytical Study

Ischemic strokes (IS), also referred to as cerebral ischemia or brain ischemia, is a significant cause to the brain cells damage or death. Approximately, 10% - 14% of ischemic strokes cases occurred in young adults. Hence, we conducted a meta-analysis to find the effective interventions to prevent the best strokes caused by cerebral infarction in young adults. The search was done in different databases, including Google scholar, PubMed, Embase, Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database, Scopus, and Web of Science from January 2016 to April 2020, and only English published articles were considered. Our analysis included studies that stratified the risk of ischemic stroke by CHA2DS2-VASc score for patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Further, random effects model was used to estimate the summary annual rate of IS. Pooled relative risks and odds ratios, with their 95% confidence intervals, were calculated, respectively. The analysis was conducted using STATA (version 12), pooled effect sizes were calculated using the random-effects model and heterogeneity was tested for using the I2 statistic. The analysis included 13 studies. The analysis shows that diabetes, high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, hypercholesterolemia, alcohol consumption and smoking are significant risk factors. In Caucasian and Chinese ischemic stroke patients, the risk factor associations associated with ischemic stroke subtypes are similar. Compared to all other ischemia subtypes, diabetes is more familiar with aortic stroke, atrial fibrillation, ischemic heart disease (with obstruction), hypertension and diabetes. Our research shows that atrial fibrillation, ischemic heart disease, and hypercholesterolemia are low in patients with ischemic stroke and the risk factors are higher. Further analysis of each patient’s data is required to enable confounders’ adjustments to confirm and expand these findings.

Cardiovascular risk factors for acute stroke: Risk profiles in the different subtypes of ischemic stroke

Timely diagnosis and control of cardiovascular risk factors is a priority objective for adequate primary and secondary prevention of acute stroke. Hypertension, atrial fibrillation and diabetes mellitus are the most common risk factors for acute cerebrovascular events, although novel risk factors, such as sleep-disordered breathing, inflammatory markers or carotid intima-media thickness have been identified. However, the cardiovascular risk factors profile differs according to the different subtypes of ischemic stroke. Atrial fibrillation and ischemic heart disease are more frequent in patients with cardioembolic infarction, hypertension and diabetes in patients with lacunar stroke, and vascular peripheral disease, hypertension, diabetes, previous transient ischemic attack and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in patients with atherothrombotic infarction. This review aims to present updated data on risk factors for acute ischemic stroke as well as to describe the usefulness of new and emerging vascular risk factors in stroke patients.

Serum Ferritin and D-Dimer as Possible Risk Factors in Ischaemic Stroke in Cancer Patients

Background: Ischemic stroke is frequently encountered in patients with malignant disease. The pathophysiology of stroke in such cases differs from other subjects with no malignant disease. This study was conducted to compare serum levels of ferritin and d-dimer in cases with ischemic stroke in cancer versus non-cancer patients. Patients and methods: The data of consecutive 264 patients presented with ischemic stroke, confirmed by clinical examination and radiological investigations, were retrospectively reviewed. The included cases were divided into two groups: Group A (non-cancer with stroke, 210 cases) and Group B (cancer with stroke, 54 cases). The collected data included patient demographics, systemic comorbidities, disease and tumor characteristics, in addition to platelet count, serum ferritin and d-dimer. Results: Age, gender, and systemic comorbidities were statistically comparable between the two groups. Additionally, the etiology of stroke and its disability were not statistically different between the two groups. However, the incidence of mortality significantly increased in Group B (25.93% vs. 7.14% of Group A, p = 0.005). Both serum ferritin and d-dimer showed a significant increase in association with cancer (Group B). The former had mean values of 294.54 and 867.87 ng/ml, while the latter had mean values of 463.83 and 888.13 ng/ml in the same two groups, respectively. Conclusion: Serum ferritin and d-dimer showed a significant rise in cancer-associated ischemic stroke. This confirms the role of the hypercoagulable state, associated with malignancy in the development of this morbidity.

Large Population Screening Identified the Main Risk Factors of Stroke in Shashi District of Jingzhou City

Objective: This paper aims to screen and analyze the current status of high-risk stroke patients in Shashi District of Jingzhou City and the exposure levels of related risk factors, and provides suggestions as the references for prevention and treatment of stroke. Methods: Using cluster sampling, on-site investigations were conducted on 1060 permanent residents aged 40 years and over at 3 townships and 2 communities in Shashi District of Jingzhou City from January 2018 to December 2018. Risk assessment of stroke is based on the stroke risk screening form. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS 22.0 software. Results: After making a stroke risk assessment, a total of 313 high-risk stroke patients were screened, and the detection rate was 29.53%. The exposure rate of risk factors from high to low was hypertension (70.93%), dyslipidemia (46.33%), less physical exercise (46.01%), diabetes (36.10%), overweight (33.55%), smoking (33.23%), family history of stroke (24.92%), atrial fibrillation or valvular heart disease (7.35%). There are statistically significant differences among all risk factors between the high-risk group and middle and low-risk groups (P Conclusion: The detection rate of high-risk stroke patients in Shashi District of Jingzhou City is high. Hypertension, dyslipidemia and less physical exercise are the main risk factors of stroke occurrence and recurrence in the region. The prevention and treatment of risk factors for stroke should be strengthened to control the incidence and recurrence rate of stroke.

Risk Factors Associated with Various Subtypes of Ischemic Stroke: A Prospective Study in BSMMU, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Introduction: Stroke is the main cause of adult disability and the second most leading cause of death worldwide. The number of deaths due to stroke is 5.54 million worldwide. Globally, 70% of strokes and 87% of both stroke-related deaths and disability-adjusted life years occur in low and middle-income countries. Method: This was a prospective observational cross-sectional study conducted at Indoor, Outdoor, Stroke and Neuro-Intervention clinic of the Department of Neurology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh, from June-2019 to May-2020. A total of 220 ischemic stroke patients aged above 30 years confirmed by CT scan/MRI of brain. Data were collected with a pre-structured questionnaire from the patients, investigations reports and face-to-face interviews and analyzed using IBM SPSS software version 23.0. Proper consent was taken from the participants. The collected data were ANNOVA tests and association within the risk factors and the patterns of subtypes of ischemic stroke where P < 0.05 considered significant. Results: Among the 220 stroke patients, large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA), cardio-embolism (CE), small-vessel occlusion (SVO, stroke of other determined etiology (SODE) and stroke of undetermined etiology (SUDE) were being observed 84 (38.18%), 14 (6.36%), 63 (28.64%), 12 (5.45%) and 47 (18.18%). Eighty-Six (39.09%) prevalence of subtypes was found in rural areas whereas 134 (60.91%) were in urban areas. The significant risk factors are associated with the prevalence of various subtypes (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study prevails the people of Bangladesh are vulnerable to various subtypes of ischemic stroke. The higher prevalence of large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA) in our patients suggests the presence of uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking habit and dyslipidemia.

Association of glutathione S-transferase T1 and M1 gene polymorphisms with ischemic stroke risk in the Chinese Han population

Atherosclerosis plays an important role in ischemic stroke, and oxidative stress participates in the entire process of atherosclerosis. Glutathione S-transferase （GST） acting with other antioxidant enzymes can eliminate reactive oxygen species and protect cells against oxidative damage. To assess the association of glutathione S-transferase （GSTT1 and GSTM1） gene polymorphisms with ischemic stroke in the Chinese Han population, the present study selected 315 patients with ischemic stroke and 210 healthy controls for comparison. GSTT1 and GSTM1 genotypes were determined using polymerase chain reactions, electrophoresis and imaging analysis. No obvious evidence of GSTTI-nulI, GSTMI-null and GSTTI/GSTMI-double null genotype distribution differences was found between case and control groups or between genders. Subgroup analysis showed that the risk of stroke was increased when hypertension was accompanied by GSTTl-null （odds ratio （OR） = 2.996, P 〈 0.001） and GSTMl-null （OR = 3.680, P 〈 0.001 ） genotypes; diabetes mellitus was accompanied by GSTTI-null （OR = 1.860, P = 0.031） and GSTMI-null （OR = 2.444, P = 0.002） genotypes, and smokers showed a GSTTl-null genotype （OR = 2.276, P = 0.003）. GSTT1- and GSTMl-null genotypes may interact synergistically with hypertension, diabetes mellitus and smoking to increase the incidence risk of ischemic stroke.

Variants of the arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (ALOX5AP) gene and risk of ischemic stroke in Han Chinese of eastern China

Variants of the arachidonate 5-1ipoxygenase-activating protein （ALOX5AP） gene have been suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and ischemic stroke. This study was aimed to explore the association of ALOX5AP variants with ischemic stroke risk in Han Chinese of eastern China. A total of 690 ischemic stroke cases and 767 controls were recruited. The subjects were further subtyped according to the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment （TOAST） criteria. On the basis of that, two polymorphisms of the ALOX5AP gene （rs10507391 and rs12429692） were determined by TaqMan genotyping assay. In addition, plasma leukotriene B4 （LTB4） levels were analyzed in these subjects. There was no evidence of association between the two variants of ALOX5AP and the risk of ischemic stroke or its TOAST-subtypes. Haplotype analysis and stratification analysis according to sex, age, body mass index, hypertension, and diabetes also showed negative association. Analysis of LTB4 levels in a subset of cases and controls revealed that LTB4 levels were significantly higher in ischemic stroke cases than in the controls （70.06± 14.75 ng/L vs 57.34±10.93 ng/L; P = 0.000） and carriers of the T allele of the rs10507391 variant were associated with higher plasma LTB4 levels （P = 0.000）. The present study suggests there is no association of the two polymorphisms in the ALOX5AP gene with ischemic stroke risk in Han Chinese of eastern China.

Differences in brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene polymorphisms between acute ischemic stroke patients and healthy controls in the Han population of southwest China

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene may affect the secretion and function of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, thereby affecting the occurrence, severity and prognosis of ischemic stroke. This case-control study included 778 patients (475 males and 303 females, mean age of 64.0 ± 12.6 years) in the acute phase of ischemic stroke and 865 control subjects (438 males and 427 females, mean age of 51.7 ± 14.7 years) from the Department of Neurology, Wes: China Hospital, Sichuan University, China between September 2011 and December 2014. The patients' severities of neurological defici:s in the acute phase were assessed using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale immediately after admission to hospital. The ischemic stroke patients were divided into different subtypes according to the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment classification. Early prognosis was evaluated using the Modified Rankin Scale when the patients were discharged. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of participants. Genotyping of rs7124442 and rs6265 was performed using Kompetitive Allele Specific polymerase chain reaction genotyping technology. Our results demonstrated that patients who carried the C allele of the rs7124442 locus had a lower risk of poor prognosis than the T allele carriers (odds ratio [OR]= 0.67;95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45-1.00;P = 0.048). The patients with the CC or TC genotype also exhibited lower risk than TT carriers (OR = 0.65;95% CI: 0.42-1.00;P = 0.049). The AA genotype at the rs6265 locus was associated with the occurrence of ischemic stroke in patients with large-artery atherosclerosis (OR = 0.5& 95% CI: 0.37-0.90;P = 0.015). We found that the C allele (CC and TC genotypes) at the rs7124442 locus may be protective for the prognosis of ischemic stroke. The AA genotype at the rs6265 locus is likely a protective factor against the occurrence of ischemic stroke in patients with large-artery atherosclerosis. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of West China Hospital of Sichuan University, China (approval ID number 2008,4]) on July 25, 2008.

Association ofALOX5,LTA4H and LTC4S gene polymorphisms with ischemic stroke risk in a cohort of Chinese in east China

BACKGROUND:Genetic variations of the 5-lipoxygenase activating protein and leukotriene A4 hydrolase genes that confer an increased risk of ischemic stroke have implicated the family of leukotrienes as potential mediators of ischemic stroke.This study aimed to explore the association of ALOX5,LTA4 H and LTC4 S gene polymorphisms with ischemic stroke risk in a cohort of Chinese in east China.METHODS:This case-control study consisted of 690 patients with ischemic stroke and 690 controls.Polymorphisms of ALOX5 rs2029253 A/G,LTA4 H rs6538697 T/C,and LTC4 S rs730012 A/C were genotyped by the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP) analysis.The multivariate logistic regression model was used to exclude the effects of conventional risk factors on ischemic stroke.RESULTS:Carriers of C allele in rs730012 were more susceptible to ischemic stroke(OR:1.37;95%CI:1.08-1.73;P=0.009).The rs2029253 GG genotype showed a risk-reducing effect on ischemic stroke(OR:0.72;95%CI:0.55-0.93;P=0.013) while the rs6538697 CC genotype had an increased risk of ischemic stroke(OR:1.77;95%CI:1.09-2.89;P=0.022).The rs730012 variant was not associated with ischemic stroke risk after adjusting confounding factors(P>0.05).CONCLUSION:The present study suggested that gene polymorphisms in the leukotrienes pathway may exert influences,with independent genetic effects,on ischemic stroke susceptibility in a cohort of Chinese in east China.

Factors affecting rate of stroke-related death in elderly male military population A 23-year cohort study of 1268 cases in Xi'an,China

The study is the first long-term cohort study examining stroke and its subtypes among a population of Chinese elderly male retired military veterans. We reported on a 23-year cohort study examining stroke in 1 268 elderly male patients living in Xi＇an, China since 1987. The stroke-related mortality rate in this cohort was 361.50/1 x 106 per year. Cerebral hemorrhage was the dominant cause of death, with 28 cases of fatal cerebral infarction and 49 cases of fatal cerebral hemorrhage among 77 stroke-related deaths. Independent risk factors for stroke mortality included age, blood pressure, smoking, body mass index, family history of hypertension, past medical history of stroke, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Among them, ischemic stroke mortality correlated with age, smoking, family history of hypertension and past medical history of stroke, while hemorrhagic stroke was related to blood pressure, body mass index and past medical history of hypertension. Our results indicated that maintaining appropriate levels of blood pressure and body mass, smoking cessation and prevention of hyperlipidemia can reduce the risk of stroke-related death in elderly males who are retired from military service.

Factors Influencing the Diferent Incidences between Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke

To search factors influencing morbidity between coronary heart disease(CHD) and stroke, a longitudinal prospective study was done in a cohort of 1 809 participants aged 3574 at entry of Jiangsu province, China. The average annual agedadjusted incidence of stroke was 142.3/\{100 000\}, being over 1315 years more than that of coronary event(CE)(49.1/100 000), the difference of the incidences between the two diseases was very significant(P<0.01). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that the main risk factors of CHD include increase of serum total cholecsterol, hypertension and mental stress, whereas the most important risk factors for stroke consist of elevation of systolic blood pressure(SBP) as well as smoking and alcohol drinking habit. It was noted that these participants in cohort usually had high salt intake, low animal protein diet, and low level of serum cholecsterol with high level of blood presure and smoking and alcohol habit. We suggest that rational dietary food, stopping smoking, limited alcohol and community control of hypertension are the preventive strategy against these diseases.