Introduction: Biomarkers have been sought to improve the diagnosis of stroke. Ischemic event causes release of inflammatory cytokines such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Lymphotoxin alpha (LTA) from immune cells of brain tissues. 

Objective: To determine the role of IL-6 and LTA as biomarkers for diagnosing acute Ischemic Stroke (IS) and differentiating it from healthy controls within 48 hours of stroke onset

Methods: A hospital-based case-control study conducted in Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India from 2017 to 2018. Serum samples were collected within 48 hours of IS onset and biomarker levels were assayed using Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) method. Optimal cut-off points were determined using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. All the statistical analysis was conducted in STATA version 13.0 software.

Results: A total of 70 acute IS patients and 70 age-sex matched healthy controls were recruited. Mean age of cases was 50.32  1.68 and controls was 51.97  1.71. Logistic regression analysis showed a significant association between IL-6 levels and risk of IS (OR 2.87; 95% CI 1.28 to 6.44) and had a sensitivity of 54% and specificity of 71% in differentiating IS from controls. However, no significant association was found between LTA levels and risk of IS (OR 0.88; 95% CI 0.44 to 1.74). 

Conclusion: Our study suggests that IL-6 might have the potential to be used as a biomarker for IS diagnosis. However, large prospective studies are warranted to improve the sensitivity and specificity of the biomarker.

DETERMINATION OF INTERLEUKIN-6 AND LYMPHOTOXIN ALPHA AS BIOMARKERS FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF ACUTE ISCHEMIC STROKE : A HOSPITAL BASED CASE-CONTROL STUDY