title: High free fatty acid level is associated with recurrent stroke in cardioembolic stroke patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the plasma level of free fatty acid (FFA) could be associated with recurrent stroke in cardioembolic (CE) stroke patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed data from 669 acute ischemic stroke patients and examined the association between FFA concentration and recurrent stroke in CE stroke patients compared with non-CE stroke patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The baseline plasma FFA concentration (mEq/L) was approximately 1.5-fold higher in CE stroke patients (1.01 ± 0.63) than in non-CE stroke patients (0.72 ± 0.51). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that an increased level of FFA was significantly associated with CE stroke (hazard ratio [HR] 2.124, confidence interval [CI] 1.492-3.024). During the mean follow-up period of 25.4 months, a total of 56 (8.4%) patients experienced a stroke recurrence. The recurrence rate did not differ between patients with CE (10.5%) and non-CE (8.0%) stroke (p = 0.396). In CE stroke patients, an elevated baseline FFA concentration was independently associated with stroke recurrence (HR 2.711, CI 1.056-6.959). However, there was no association between FFA and stroke recurrence in non-CE stroke patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this retrospective registry-based observational study, CE stroke seemed to be associated with elevated plasma level of FFA. In addition, the present study suggested that an elevated FFA concentration could be a useful indicator for predicting recurrent stroke in CE stroke patients.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology (J.-Y.C.), Korea University College of Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Ansan; Department of Neurology (J.-S.K.), Korea University College of Medicine, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul; and Department of Neurology (J.H., K.O., S.-B.K., W.-K.S.), Korea University College of Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Seoul.
authors.forename: Jeong-Yoon
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Ji-Sun
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ji Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kyungmi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Seong-Beom
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: Woo-Keun
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Seo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D004617:Embolism / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D012042:Registries; D020521:Stroke / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified