Association of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 with neurological deterioration of ischemic stroke: The Chongqing Stroke Study

Background: Adhesion molecules play important roles in the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether serum levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cellular adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1) and soluble E-selectin were associated with neurological deterioration of ischemic stroke. Methods: 238 consecutive patients with ischemic stroke examined within 24 h from onset were enrolled into the study. The stroke severity was daily assessed with the NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) within the first week after admission. Serum levels of sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and sE-selectin after admission were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the association of serum levels of sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and sE- selectin on admission with the neurological deterioration of ischemic stroke, adjusted for potential confounders. Results: 52 (21.8%) out of 238 stroke patients suffered from neurological deterioration. Serum levels of sICAM-1 on admission of stroke patients were significantly higher than those of healthy controls. Compared with patients without deterioration, patients with neurological deterioration had higher levels of sICAM-1, but not of sVCAM-1 and sE-selectin. On multivariate logistic regression, the serum level of sICAM-1 on admission was associated with neurological deterioration of stroke (OR 2.92, 95% CI 1.41 - 6.05). Other variables associated with neurological deterioration were fasting serum glucose (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.24 - 2.20), baseline fibrinogen (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.13 - 1.52) and NIHSS score (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.15 - 1.32). Conclusions: The serum level of sICAM-1 on admission is associated with neurological deterioration of ischemic stroke. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.