Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, 800216 Galati, Romania.
"St. Apostle Andrei" Clinical Emergency County Hospital Galati, 800578 Galati, Romania.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Jun 20;25(12):6772. doi: 10.3390/ijms25126772.
Caspases are key players in the apoptotic process and have been found to contribute to the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases, including neurological disorders such as ischemic stroke. This study aimed to investigate the serum levels of Caspase-3 in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and in control patients without ischemic events. Moreover, we explored any potential associations with the clinical outcomes of AIS. We enrolled 69 consecutive patients with clinical signs and symptoms of AIS in the presence of a negative CT scan who presented themselves at the Clinical Neurological Department from the Emergency Clinical Hospital of Galati within the first 24 h of symptom onset. The control group comprised 68 patients without cerebral ischemic pathologies. A comparison of the two groups showed significantly higher levels of caspase-3 at 24 and 48 h after hospital admission. No significant associations between caspase-3 levels and clinical features of AIS were seen. However, in a subgroup analysis conducted on patients with moderate/severe and severe stroke, lower levels of caspase-3 were associated with early mortality. Caspase-3 levels did not directly correlate with AIS severity or prognosis when considering all AIS patients. In patients with moderate to severe National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, caspase-3 might be a prognostic indicator of early death. Further studies are required to confirm these results and further explore the mechanisms behind these findings.
Caspases 是细胞凋亡过程中的关键参与者，已被发现与多种疾病的发病机制有关，包括缺血性脑卒中（Ischemic Stroke）等神经系统疾病。本研究旨在探讨急性缺血性脑卒中（AIS）患者和无缺血事件的对照组患者血清中 Caspase-3 的水平，并探讨其与 AIS 临床结局的潜在关联。我们连续纳入了 69 名在症状发作后 24 小时内到加拉茨临床神经科就诊的有临床症状和体征的 AIS 患者（经 CT 扫描排除了缺血性病变）。对照组包括 68 名无脑缺血性病变的患者。与对照组相比，AIS 组患者在入院后 24 小时和 48 小时 Caspase-3 水平显著升高。但未发现 Caspase-3 水平与 AIS 临床特征之间存在显著相关性。然而，在对中重度和重度脑卒中患者进行的亚组分析中，较低的 Caspase-3 水平与早期死亡率相关。当考虑所有 AIS 患者时，Caspase-3 水平与 AIS 严重程度或预后并无直接关联。在 NIHSS 评分中等至重度的患者中，Caspase-3 可能是早期死亡的预后指标。需要进一步的研究来证实这些结果，并进一步探讨这些发现背后的机制。
