TUESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Stroke patients who have elevated blood levels of the calcium-binding protein S100B are more likely to develop brain hemorrhages after receiving thrombolytic therapy, researchers report in the September issue of Stroke.
Christian Foerch, M.D., of Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and colleagues reviewed the medical records of 275 stroke patients (mean age 69 years) who had been admitted to three European hospitals between 2002 and 2005. All had received thrombolytic therapy within six hours of symptom onset.
Serum S100B values were significantly higher in the 80 patients with hemorrhagic transformation than in those without. The odds ratio of hemorrhage for patients with a S100B value in the highest quintile was 2.87. After adjustment for confounders, including age, sex, symptom severity and vascular risk factors, the odds ratio was 2.80. However, assessment of the diagnostic accuracy of S100B determined it was too low to be useful in stroke management.
"Because serum biomarkers in general may provide valid information in this context," the authors conclude, "large-scale prospective studies should be undertaken to determine their actual potential."
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