Goals: The aim of this study was to test the relations between plasma cytokines and the clinical characteristics, course, and risk factors in acute stroke.
Patients and methods: The analysis was based on 179 patients with acute stroke included within 24 hours of stroke onset. On inclusion and 3 months later plasma levels of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1beta), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 10 (IL-10), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNF-R1), and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (sTNF-R2) were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA).
Findings: The levels of most cytokines were significantly different in acute stroke from the levels 3 months later; but only IL-10 was positively associated with stroke severity. C-reactive protein and white blood cell count were positively associated with the cytokine response.
Conclusions: We found a substantial overall cytokine reaction that reflected the stroke incident. However, these results do not, at present, suggest a potential for clinical use, as they do not seem to add to the information obtained from the clinical workup of the individual patient.