ABSTRACT
Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory cytokine is involved in various vascular pathologies including stroke. Till date, no studies have been reported for the association between IL-6 gene polymorphisms with the risk of Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Objective: The aim of this present case-control study was to investigate the association between IL-6 (-174 G/C and -572 C/G) gene polymorphisms and risk of ICH in North Indian population. Methods: Genotyping was carried out by using SNaPshot method for ICH patients and 100 age-sex matched ICH free controls. Conditional logistic regression analysis with adjusting multiple demographic and risk factor variables was used to calculate the strength of association between IL-6 (-174 G/C and -572 C/G) polymorphisms and risk of ICH. Results: Hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking and low socioeconomic status were found to be associated with the risk of ICH. The distribution of -174 G/C and -572 C/G genotypes was consistent with Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) in the ICH and control subjects. Conditional logistic regression analysis showed a significant association between IL-6 -572 C/G gene polymorphism and the risk of ICH under dominant model (OR=3.7; 95%CI 1.05 to 13.1; p=0.004) and allelic model (OR=2.6; 95%CI 1.1 to 6.2; p=0.01). No significant association was observed for the association between IL-6 -174 G/C gene polymorphism and risk of ICH. Conclusion: Our results suggest that IL-6 (-572 C/G) polymorphism is significantly associated with the risk of ICH in North Indian population. Further prospective studies with large sample size are needed for independent validation.
ABSTRACT
Background. Studies have shown that myocardial infarction is a leading cause of death in patients recovering from stroke or transient ischaemic attacks. We aimed to study the prevalence of symptomatic and asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with stroke. Methods. Eighty-six patients with stroke were evaluated for risk factors and presence of CAD. Patients without a previous diagnosis of CAD underwent stress–rest gated technetium-99m (Tc99m) tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) scan to estimate the presence or absence of a reversible perfusion deficit. Results. Thirty-three patients (clinically asymptomatic for CAD) did not consent for the MPS scan. Among the remaining 53 patients, 13 patients had been previously diagnosed to have CAD, 8 patients were suspected to have underlying CAD and 32 patients were asymptomatic. Among the patients with suspected CAD, 2 had abnormal MPS scans and one had triple-vessel disease on coronary angiography. Of the asymptomatic patients, 6 had CAD. The overall proportion of CAD among patients with stroke was 41.5% (22/53) and that of asymptomatic CAD 18.8% (6/32). Conclusion. A considerable number of patients with stroke may have associated CAD. An optimal management strategy in stroke patients who have silent CAD may improve clinical outcomes.
ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: Bone marrow mononuclear cell therapy has emerged as one of the option for the treatment of Stroke. Several preclinical studies have shown that the treatment with mononuclear cell (MNCs) can reduce the infarct size and improve the functional outcome. We evaluated the feasibility, safety and clinical outcome of administering bone marrow mononuclear cell (MNCs) intravenously to patients with subacute ischaemic stroke. Methods: In a non-randomized phase-I clinical study, 11 consecutive, eligible and consenting patients, aged 30-70 yr with ischaemic stroke involving anterior circulation within 7 to 30 days of onset of stroke were included. Bone marrow was aspirated from iliac crest and the harvested mononuclear cells were infused into antecubital vein. Outcomes measured for safety included immediate reactions after cell infusion and evidence of tumour formation at one year in whole body PET scan. Patients were followed at week 1, 4-6, 24 and 52 to determine clinical progress using National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Barthel Index (BI), modified Rankin Scale (mRS), MRI, EEG and PET. Feasibility outcomes included target-dose feasibility. Favourable clinical outcome was defined as mRS score of 2 or less or BI score of 75 to 100 at six months after stem cell therapy. Results: Between September 2006 and April 2007, 11 patients were infused with bone-marrow mononuclear cells (mean 80 million with CD-34+ mean 0.92 million). Protocol was target-dose feasible in 9 patients (82%). FDG-PET scan at 24 and 52 wk in nine patients did not reveal evidence of tumour formation. Seven patients had favourable clinical outcome. Interpretation & conclusions: Intravenous bone marrow mononuclear cell therapy appears feasible and safe in patients with subacute ischaemic stroke. Further, a randomized controlled trial to examine its efficacy is being conducted.