title: Mobilization of Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells by dl-3-n-Butylphthalide in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The research aim was to investigate the effects of dl-3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) on the level of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and clinical outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 170 patients were included and randomly assigned to NBP group and control group. All patients were administrated a basic antiplatelet and lipid-lowering therapy. Among the patients, 86 received additional NBP administration for 30 days, whereas 84 received only basic therapy (the control). The level of circulating EPCs (marked with CD34(+)/CD133(+)/KDR(+)) was determined by flow cytometry at baseline and days 7, 14, and 30 after therapy. Impairment of neurological function was evaluated by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) on days 7, 14, 30, and 90 after therapy. The association between the increased level of circulating EPCs and improvement of NIHSS score was evaluated by Pearson analysis. The clinical outcome was evaluated by modified Rankin Scale (mRS) on day 90. During the observation period, any adverse events related to drugs were reported.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The levels of circulating EPCs on days 14 and 30 were significantly higher in the NBP group than in the control group. In contrast, NIHSS score was notably lower in NBP group on day 14, 30 and day 90. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant association between the increased level of EPCs and improvement of NIHSS score. Also, the mRS score in the NBP group was lower on day 90. Importantly, the reported adverse events in the 2 groups were comparable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NBP significantly increases the circulating level and improves clinical outcome in patients with AIS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Hongru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Wenwei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Qunying
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiuying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Xuemin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Guozhen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Neurological Diseases, Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: hippocampus2007@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Xianju
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: njq@suda.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jianqiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ni
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D066026:Endothelial Progenitor Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D020521:Stroke / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D013997:Time Factors; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D001572:Benzofurans; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; C027125:3-n-butylphthalide; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2
keywords: Acute ischemic stroke; NIHSS; clinical outcome; dl-3-n-butylphthalide; endothelial progenitor cells; mRS