Abstract
Lipids and apolipoproteins were analysed in 228 subjects with thrombotic cerebral infarction and 47 age and sex matched controls (group C) without remarkable atherosclerotic changes in the cerebral arteries. The stroke subjects were divided into two groups upon the findings of carotid angiography as follws, group E : 81 subjects with stenotic lesions in the extracranial carotid arteries/group I : 147 subjects without carotid lesions.
Both serum cholesterol (CHO) and triglyceride (TG) were significantly higher in group E than in group C (p<0.01).HDL-C was significantly lower in group E than in group C (p<0.001). However, differences of CHO, TG and HDL-C between group I and group C were not statistically significant. Atherogenic index (CHO-HDL-C/HDL-C) was significantly higher in both group E and I than in group C (p<0.001), suggesting it was recommended to use atherogenic index as a marker of risk factor for thrombotic cerebral infarction with or without extracranial carotid lesions. On the other hand, apoprotein A1 was significantly lower in both group E and I than in group C (p<0.01). Apoprotein B was significantly higher in both group E and I than in group C (p<0.01). However, no significant difference in apoprotein A2 was observed among 3 groups.
In the present study, it is suggested that there are some differences in the lipid and apolipoprotein abnormalities between the subjects with intracranial atherosclerosis and the subjects with extracranial atherosclerosis. In the stroke subjects, high serum CHO levels and low serum HDL-C levels may be more frequently associated with the development of extracranial carotid lesions. On the other hand, apolipoprotein abnormalities which were characterized by the increase in apoprotein B and the decrease in apoprotein A1 may play important roles on the development of both intra- and extracranial atherosclerosis.
