Distinct ‘pattern of autofluorescence’ of acute ischemic stroke patients’ skin and fingernails: A novel diagnostic biomarker for acute ischemic stroke

Abstract

Early diagnosis of stroke is critical for therapeutic efficacy. Our study was designed to test our hypothesis that altered autofluorescence (AF) may be a diagnostic biomarker for ischemic stroke. The major findings of our study include: First, the green AF intensity of acute ischemic stroke patients in their fingernails and certain regions of their skin is significantly higher than that of the healthy persons and Low-Risk persons as well as the High-Risk persons. Second, the AF increases of the acute ischemic stroke patients are asymmetrical: The AF intensity of their left hands is significantly different from that of their right hands. Third, the percentage of the people with one or more regions with increased green AF is 7.69%, 37.93%, 71.43% and 58.82% for the healthy persons and Low-Risk persons, High-Risk persons, acute ischemic stroke patients and ischemic stroke patients during recovery phase, respectively. Fourth, the number of the regions with increased AF intensity is highly positively correlated with the probability that the person examined is an ischemic stroke patient. Moreover, there is evidence suggesting that the AF increases in the fingernails and the skin of ischemic stroke patients may result from oxidative stress-induced alterations of keratins. Collectively, our study has indicated that asymmetric AF increases in ischemic stroke may become a novel diagnostic biomarker for the disease. The fingernails' AF in ischemic stroke may also become a predicative biomarker for the illness.

Green autofluorescence intensity of skin and fingernails: A novel biomarker for non-invasive evaluation of pathological state of blood vessels

“…Our previous studies have indicated that the increased epidermal green AF indicates the injury levels produced by oxidative stress or inflammation, instead merely a probability of injury: 1) We have found that in healthy persons (3) and normal mice that are not exposed to UV (12,13) or inflammation-inducing agents (26), the basal epidermal green AF is at very low levels. 2) Such insults as UV (12,13) and LPS (26) can dose-dependently increase the epidermal AF intensity.…”

“…Our recent studies have suggested that characteristic 'Pattern of Autofluorescence (AF)' could be a novel biomarker for non-invasive diagnosis of AIS (3), MI (25), stable coronary artery disease (25), Parkinson's disease (4) and lung cancer (14). In particular, there are marked and characteristic increases in the green AF intensity in the fingernails and certain regions of the skin of the AIS patients (3) and MI patients (25).…”

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces increased epidermal green autofluorescence of mouse

“…Our recent studies have suggested that characteristic 'Pattern of AF' could be a novel biomarker for non-invasive diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke (2), acute myocardial infarction (24), stable coronary artery disease (24), Parkinson's disease (3) and lung cancer (11). While oxidative stress could be a key factor leading to the increased epidermal green AF of the patients' skin, future studies are necessary to determine if the increased AF may also be caused by other pathological factors such as inflammation.…”

Intracellular Oxidative Stress Levels are Significantly Associated with the Green Autofluorescence Intensity of Buthionine Sulfoximine-Treated B16-F10 Cells

“…We have found that BSO can dose-dependently increase the epidermal green AF of mice, with BSO doses being significantly associated with the AF intensity (12). Our study has also indicated that increased skin’s green AF is a promising biomarker for diagnosis of such major diseases as AIS (13), lung cancer (14) and Parkinson’s disease (15). However, regarding our finding that BSO induced increased epidermal green AF of mice, the following important scientific questions have remained unanswered: 1) Does BSO induce increased green AF of skin cells by its direct effect on the skin cells?…”