Serum pentraxin 3 as a biomarker for prognosis of acute minor stroke due to large artery atherosclerosis

Abstract

Objectives: Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) may reflect local inflammatory status in tissues and thus serve as a potential biomarker of inflammation. Here, we investigated the utility of serum PTX3 as an index for assessing the 90-day prognosis of acute minor stroke patients. Materials & Methods: Acute minor stroke patients (N = 241) and matched healthy control subjects (N = 241) were prospectively recruited. Clinical, laboratory, and imaging data were assessed. Blood samples were collected within 48h after acute minor stroke onset and serum PTX3 levels were determined. Results: Significant increases in stroke patients versus controls were obtained for serum PTX3 (3.14 ± 1.23 vs. 2.44 ± 0.74 ng/ml; p .05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that serum PTX3 and LDL cholesterol could predict unfavorable outcomes at day 90 in Large Artery Atherosclerosis (LAA) patients. Conclusions: Serum Pentraxin 3 may serve as an independent predictor for an unfavorable outcome in the LAA subtype of acute minor stroke and may possess a superior prognostic value as compared to CRP in this LAA subgroup.