ABSTRACT
Objective·To study the change of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (cEPCs) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients within one week after attack,and the correlation of cEPCs with the prognosis.Methods·Ninty-two patients with AIS (AIS group) and 20 patients with risk factors (Risk group) were recruited.The proportion of cEPCs (CD34TKDR+ cells) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of AIS patients was measured by flow cytometry (FCM) on the first day of admission and the seventh day after attack.Functional recovery was assessed by modified Rankin Scale (mRS) on the 90th day after onset.The cEPCs percentages of AIS patients with different mRS were compared to analyze their correlation.Results·Compared with Risk group,cEPCs percentage of AIS group on the 1st day of admission was lower (P=0.016).In AIS group,compared with poor prognosis group (mRS＞2),eEPCs percentage of good prognosis group on the 7th day after onset (mRS ≤ 2) elevates (P=0.002).The result of multiple linear regression showed that cEPCs percentage on the 7th day after onset was positively correlated with mRS on the 90th day (t=4.608,P=0.011).Conclusion·The percentage of cEPCs in peripheral blood of AIS patients decreases significantly during the acute phase.The percentage on the 7th day after onset is correlated with prognosis of AIS patients.