MTHFR Gene (C677t) Polymorphism in Ischemic Stroke, its Subtypes and Hemorrhagic Stroke in a South Indian Population.

ABSTRACT

Objective: We investigated the association of MTHFR C677T polymorphism with ischemic stroke, its subtypes and hemorrhagic stroke in a South Indian Population from Andhra Pradesh. Methods: Six hundred and twenty ischemic stroke patients, 220 hemorrhagic stroke patients and 620 age and sex matched healthy controls, were included in the present study. The polymorphism was determined using PCR-RFLP technique. Results: The strength of association between genotypes and stroke types was measured by the odds ratio with 95% confidence interval and chi-squared analysis. We found significant association of the CT genotype with ischemic stroke as well as haemorrhagic stroke (p<0.05). Further, evaluating the association of this polymorphism with stroke subtypes, we found significant association with intracranial large artery (p<0.05), lacunar stroke (p<0.05) and undetermined etiology (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in genotypic or allelic frequencies between ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. Conclusion: Our study suggests that MTHFR (C677T) is an important risk factor for ischemic stroke, its subtypes and hemorrhagic stroke in the South Indians from Andhra Pradesh but it cannot help in distinguishing between the two types of stroke.