BackgroundStroke is the third leading cause of death and leading cause of adult disability worldwide. Long-term disability is a significant problem among survivors; post-stroke inflammation is well known to contribute to the expansion of the ischemic lesion resulting in significant morbidity and disability. To study the impact of serum level of IL-8 on severity of disability in patients with acute ischemic stroke in the first 48 h post stroke.MethodsA cross-sectional case control study was conducted on 44 patients with acute ischemic stroke (in the first 48 h). The patients were subjected to full neurological examination, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, and assessment of stroke disability using the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Measurement of the serum levels of IL-8, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein (CRP) was done. Forty-four matched control subjects for their age and sex were included for comparison of serum level of IL-8.ResultsThe level of IL-8 was significantly higher in the patients than in the control subjects (p < 0.001).There was a statistically significant positive correlation between serum level of IL-8 and disability assessed by NIHSS (r = 0.42, p = 0.004). The patients with moderate disability showed significant higher IL-8 levels than those with minor disability (p = 0.02).ConclusionThe severity of disability in early acute ischemic stroke is highly correlated to the serum level of IL-8.
Background: Clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) is the first neurologic episode of multiple sclerosis (MS). Clinical presentation, neurophysiological studies, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are used to predict risk of conversion to MS. There is little information regarding the risk factors of CIS conversion to MS so far in the Egyptian patients. This study aimed to evaluate the predictors of early conversion of the Egyptian patients with CIS to MS. Methods: A longitudinal prospective study was conducted on 43 Egyptian patients diagnosed as CIS according to the McDonald criteria (2010). The CIS patients underwent clinical assessment of disability using Expanded Disability Status Scale(EDSS), brain imaging by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and visual evoked potential (VEP) at baseline and after 1-year follow-up. Results: Eight patients (19.6%) with CIS converted to clinically definite MS after 1 year. A logistic regression analysis revealed that the CIS patients with initial clinical presentation with optic neuritis and higher MRI brain lesion number were associated with early conversion to MS (p = 0.003, p = 0.002, respectively). The total MRI brain T 2 lesion number that predicts early conversion to MS was four lesions with sensitivity (100%) and specificity (85.7%). Conclusions: The patients with CIS that early presented with optic neuritis and higher MRI brain lesion number are at higher risk for conversion to clinically definite MS.
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