Background: Stroke is one of the leading causes of mortality and long-term disability. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of stroke are crucial for a better outcome. A blood test, which serves as a biomarker in rural areas, will help immediately transfer patients to a hospital for thrombolytic therapy.
The Aim of the work: To evaluate the role of Ischemia modified albumin [IMA] level, uric acid and serum albumin in early diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke [AIS].
Patients and Methods: This study is a case-control comparative study done on thirty ischemic stroke patients presenting with acute stroke within 8 hours of stroke onset from onset of symptoms evaluated at Al-Zhraa University Hospital, and thirty healthy individuals matched for sex and age with patients, serum albumin, serum uric acid, and IMA were measured both on admission and 48 hours after admission.
Results: Patients exhibited significantly lower serum uric acid levels [2.98 ± 0.49 mg/dL vs. 5.66 ± 0.87 mg/dL, p < 0.001] and serum albumin levels [3.23 ± 0.90 g/dL vs. 5.12 ± 0.70 g/dL, p < 0.001] compared to controls. Moreover, patients demonstrated significantly higher IMA levels [20.55 [15.9 - 38.6] mg/dL vs. 14.85 [11.2 - 16.8] mg/dL, p < 0.001] compared to controls. Notably, lower serum uric acid levels [r = -0.860, p = 0.008] and lower serum albumin levels [r = -0.516, p = 0.018] were significantly associated with more severe stroke outcomes, as assessed by the modified Rankin scale [MRS].
Conclusion: The IMA and oxidative stress biomarkers may be sensitive and rapid biomarkers for screening of early ischemic stroke.