Elevated Homocysteine Level Related to Poor Outcome After Thrombolysis in Acute Ischemic Stroke

BACKGROUND Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is a well-known risk factor for ischemic stroke. However, whether HHcy can influence the treatment outcome of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients has yet to be fully determined. In this study, we investigated the relationship between serum homocysteine (Hcy) level and prognosis in AIS patients who received tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS Patients were recruited according to the research criteria and grouped by their serum Hcy levels. Neurological outcome was evaluated by National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score system before and 1 week after treatment, and functional outcome was evaluated by modified Rankin Scale (MRS) score system after 3 months. All patients took CT/MRI examination to detect cerebral hemorrhage in 24 hours after tPA treatment. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was employed to assess if serum homocysteine level can be used as an index to predict the outcome after tPA treatment. RESULTS The mean (±SD) serum Hcy level of 194 patients was 22.62±21.23 μmol/L. After 1-week tPA treatment, the NIHSS scores of high Hcy level group were significantly higher than those of low level group (p