Research for biomarkers in ischemic stroke

Abstract

In patients with ischemic stroke, biomarker may be useful to support its early diagnosis and personalize their therapy. Although many biomarkers have been reported as a candidate marker for ischemic stroke, few are currently used in clinical practice. To identify useful markers for ischemic stroke, we have performed REBIOS study and have found that plasma VEGF is associated with clinical outcomes depending on stroke subtypes. Therefore, the clinical importance of biomarkers may be different according to stroke etiology. Heterogeneity in ischemic stroke hampers the clinical usefulness of blood biomarkers. Common study flaws in biomarker studies reported so far are small study sizes, unclear diagnostic cut-points, and lack of clinical validation of the proposed biomarkers. Further study regarding biomarkers for ischemic stroke is needed to validate in large-scaled study size. Efforts toward discovery of stroke biomarkers have the possibility to improve patient outcome.