New Biomarker Reported for Severe Intracerebral Hemorrhage

The association between high serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and clinical outcomes of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients has been investigated.

Although brain edema caused by ICH is more severe than cerebral ischemia and it is usually associated with poor prognostic results, few studies have been conducted on how VEGF influences brain edema resulted from ICH.

Scientists at the Hebei Medical University recruited a total of 82 patients including 56 males and 26 females with a mean age of 61.4 ± 4.7 (range: 41~80). A total of 78 healthy subjects, who participated in health examinations in the same hospital during the same period were recruited as the control group with a mean age of 60.2 ± 1.3, (range: 45-78). Patients were divided into group A (less than 20 mL), group B (20-30 mL), and group C (greater than 30 mL) based on the bleeding amount. ICH patients were also categorized into the mild group (1-15) moderate group (16-30), and severe group (31-45).

The serum levels of VEGF in acute ICH patients detected at 24, 48, and 72 hours were obtained using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit, and then compared with the control group. Main clinical outcomes were evaluated using the modified Rankin scale at 90 days. The serum levels of VEGF were significantly higher than those in the control group.

The serum levels of VEGF in group C were specifically higher compared with those in other two groups. The severe group exhibited higher levels of VEGF than the other two groups. VEGF levels in patients with good outcomes were much higher than those in patients with poor outcomes. The results indicated that the optimal cut-off value of VEGF at 72 hours for predicting good outcomes was 111.2 pg/mL with 91.5% sensitivity and 98.7% specificity. The authors concluded that that the elevated serum levels of VEGF were associated with pathogenesis of ICH and because of which, VEGF could be a new marker in ICH for severity. The study was published on December 20, 2016, in the Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis.