The Importance of Increased Serum GFAP and UCH-L1 Levels in Distinguishing Large Vessel from Small Vessel Occlusion in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Overview

Journal Biomedicines

Specialty Biomedical Engineering

Date 2024 Mar 28

PMID 38540221

Authors

Ivan Kraljevic

Sara Sablic

Maja Marinovic Guic

Danijela Budimir Mrsic

Ivana Stula

Kresimir Dolic

Benjamin Benzon

Vana Kosta

Kresimir caljkusic

Marino Marcic

Daniela Supe Domic

Sanja Lovric Kojundzic

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is one of the leading causes of morbidity worldwide, thus, early recognition is essential to accelerate treatment. The only definite way to diagnose AIS is radiological imaging, which is limited to hospitals. However, two serum neuromarkers, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1), have been proven as indicators of brain trauma and AIS. We aimed to investigate the potential utility of these markers in distinguishing between large vessel occlusion (LVO) and small vessel occlusion (SVO), considering differences in treatment. Sixty-nine AIS patients were included in our study and divided into LVO and SVO groups based on radiological imaging. Control group consisted of 22 participants without history of neurological disorders. Results showed differences in serum levels of both GFAP and UHC-L1 between all groups; control vs. SVO vs. LVO (GFAP: 30.19 pg/mL vs. 58.6 pg/mL vs. 321.3 pg/mL; UCH-L1: 117.7 pg/mL vs. 251.8 pg/mL vs. 573.1 pg/mL; < 0.0001), with LVO having the highest values. Other prognostic factors of stroke severity were analyzed and did not correlate with serum biomarkers. In conclusion, a combination of GFAP and UCH-L1 could potentially be a valuable diagnostic tool for differentiating LVO and SVO in AIS patients.

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