Can High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Plasma Homocysteine Levels Independently Predict the Prognosis of Patients with Functional Disability after First-Ever Ischemic Stroke?

Background The prognosis of functional disability in patients with cerebrovascular disease has not been well established Therefore we conducted this study to determine the prognostic significance of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and homocysteine (Hcy) levels in patients with functional disability after acute first-ever ischemic stroke Method A total of 309 patients with first-ever stroke were examined within 24 h after symptom onset Hcy was measured at admission, and hs-CRP measurements were made at admission and on the seventh hospital day The correlations between the concentration of hs-CRP or Hcy and functional disability at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after stroke onset were analyzed Results The present study showed that both hs-CRP values on admission and on the seventh hospital day were significantly correlated with modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores obtained at 4 times after the onset of stroke These results also demonstrated that mRS scores are more closely associated with hs-CRP values on the seventh hospital day than on admission However, there was no significant relationship between Hcy and mRS scores during the 12-month follow-up period Conclusion According to the present study, we cautiously suggest that hs-CRP values on the subacute phase have sufficient value as a predictor of the prognosis of functional disability after first-ever stroke Copyright (C) 2010 S Karger AG Basel