Cerebrospinal fluid lactate dehydrogenase levels in early stroke and transient ischemic attacks

Abstract

We examined the concentrations of lactate dehydrogenase in the cerebrospinal fluid of 25 patients with strokes and 15 patients with transient ischemic attacks <8 hours after the onset of the vascular event and in a control group of 21 patients. We found significantly higher concentrations in the stroke patients (40.9±14.5 units/1) than in the transient ischemic attack patients (11.8±2.9 units/1, p<0.001) and the controls (112±6.7 units/I, p<0.001). Among the stroke patients, we found a significantly higher lactate dehydrogenase concentration in those with cortical strokes (n = 12, 50±123 units/1) than in those with lacunar white matter infarcts (n=5, 26.4±6.5 units/1; p<0.001) and those with basal ganglia infarcts (n=8, 36-37±11.7 units/1; p<0.05). Our study offers a supplementary examination for diagnosing cortical or subcortical infarction during the early stage of the event, with the possibility of distinguishing precisely stroke from transient ischemic attack during the first hours after onset of the event. © 1990 American Heart Association, Inc.