Acute-phase proteins in stroke: influences of its cause (cerebral hemorrhage or infarction), of the cerebral site of infarction, and of the sex of patients.

In most of the 129 patients with a recent stroke by cerebral hemorrhage or infarction a note-worthy acute-phase response was found, as demonstrated by important quantitative alterations of blood levels of several acute-phase proteins (APP). These alterations were different in patients with cerebral hemorrhage as compared to those with cerebral infarction. The alterations due to cerebral infarction were not different according to the site of the infarction in brain, i.e. in the brain territories irrigated by the carotid artery system or by the basilar artery system. The APP alterations do not depend on the sex of patients or on the time elapsed from stroke-onset to blood collection.