The Serum Levels of IL-18 and the Clinical Significance in Patients With Acute Cerebral Infarction

Objective To investigate the serum levels of IL-18 and the clinical significance in patients with acute cerebral infarction(ACI).Methods 46 patients with ACI were selected and divided into different groups according to the size of infarction and clinical neurologic impairment degree score.In all subjects,the serum IL-18 concentrations were detected by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Results The serum IL18 levels in the patients with ACI within 48 hours after the onset were significantly higher than that in the healthy subjects(P0.05).Comparing groups with the different infarction size: the serum levels of IL-18 were increased steply with the volume of infarction,the differences between the groups was significant(all P0.05). There was a significant correlation between IL-18 and the volume of infarction(r=0.819,P0.001).Comparing the three groups: the serum levels of IL-18 were increased steply with the clinical neurologic impairment degree score,the differences between the groups was significant(all P0.05).There was a significant correlation between IL-18 and the clinical neurologic impairment degree score(r=0.847,P0.001).Conclusions The serum levels of IL-18 were significantly elevated in the patients with ACI.The serum level of IL-18 was increased closely with the volume of infarction and the clinical neurologic impairment degree score,which suggests that IL-18 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of CI,and probably be a prognostic factor of CI.