Evaluation of Serum Fibroblast Growth Factor Levels in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Authors : Mustafa Şen, Şahidin Şen, Süber Dikici, Handan Ankaralı, Hilmi Demirin

Pages : 11-15

View : 42 | Download : 59

Publication Date : 2025-03-15

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Introduction: Stroke is a leading cause of death worldwide and remains very difficult to treat. Stroke results in brain damage through a cascade of events, including inflammatory responses and apoptosis. Serum basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) promotes the survival of nerve cells, stimulates new vessel formation, mesodermal remodeling, cell division, and cell migration, and accelerates wound healing. In this study, we evaluated serum bFGF levels in patients with ischemic stroke and examined the relationship between the clinical status of ischemic stroke patients and the control group. Methods: We prospectively evaluated 96 patients (38 female and 58 male) admitted to our Neurology Clinic between February 2012 and October 2012, whose diagnosis of ischemic stroke was confirmed within 24 h after the onset of ischemic stroke. The control group comprised 48 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers (32 female and 16 male) without vascular risk factors. the initial neurologic evaluation was performed using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) to determine the severity of the stroke, and blood samples were obtained from all patients included in the study within 24 h from the onset of stroke to measure serum bFGF levels. These data were compared with data from control subjects. Results: Serum bFGF levels of the ischemic stroke patients and the control group were 6.6±8.8 pg/ml and 4.6±4.3 pg/ml, respectively. A significant difference was noted between serum bFGF levels of both ischemic stroke patients and control subjects (p=0.005). Serum bFGF levels did not correlate significantly with NIHSS scores of patients with ischemic stroke (p>0.05). Conclusions: We found that serum bFGF levels were significantly increased after acute ischemic stroke. The increase in serum bFGF levels in ischemic stroke patients may be a protective response to reduce brain damage.
Keywords : temel fibroblast büyüme faktörü, intraserebral iskemi, anjiyogenez, akut iskemik inme