title: Immune-inflammatory markers and arterial stiffness indexes in subjects with acute ischemic stroke with and without metabolic syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to evaluate the associations between arterial stiffness indexes and immune-inflammatory markers in subjects with acute ischemic stroke with and without metabolic syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  We enrolled 130 patients with acute ischemic stroke and metabolic syndrome, 127 patients with acute ischemic stroke without metabolic syndrome and 120 control subjects without acute stroke. Applanation tonometry was used to record the augmentation index (Aix) and pulse wave velocity (PWV). We also evaluated plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Interleukin-10 (IL-10), E-selectin, P-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), von Willebrand Factor (vWF) plasma levels, tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In subjects with acute ischemic stroke and metabolic syndrome we observed higher median plasma values of immuno-inflammatory markers. In acute ischemic stroke patients and metabolic syndrome in relation of each TOAST subtype we observed a more significant positive correlation between PWV and immuno-inflammatory markers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Stroke subjects with acute ischemic stroke and metabolic syndrome showed a higher degree of immuno-inflammatory and arterial stiffness indexes possibly due to metabolic background of these types of patients that trigger a more intense immune-inflammatory activation irrespective of stroke subtype, whereas being related to stroke subtype in subjects without metabolic syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, P,zza delle Cliniche n,2, 90127 Palermo, Italy. bruno.tuttolomondo@unipa.it.
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tuttolomondo
authors.forename: Rosaria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pecoraro
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Di Raimondo
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Sciacca
authors.forename: Baldassare
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Canino
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Arnao
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buttà
authors.forename: Vittoriano
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Della Corte
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maida
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Licata
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pinto