Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is a useful marker for the diagnosis of ischemic events. It was also recently demonstrated that IMA levels increase in the acute phase of cerebrovascular diseases. Yet the data regarding IMA levels in various types of cerebrovascular events are insufficient. The aim of this study was to evaluate IMA levels in various types of cerebrovascular events such as ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and intracranial hemorrhage.
Methods: This case-controlled study consisted of 106 consecutive patients, 43 with brain infarction (BI), 11 with brain hemorrhage (ICH), 52 with SAH, and a 43-member control group. We investigated whether there was a statistical correlation between these 3 groups and the control group. The relations among the 3 groups were also examined. Comparisons among groups were done with analysis of variance.
Results: Mean serum IMA levels were 0.280 +/- 0.045 absorbance units (ABSU) for BI patients, 0.259 +/- 0.053 ABSU for ICH patients, 0.243 +/- 0.061 ABSU for SAH patients, and 0.172 +/- 0.045 ABSU for the control group.There was a statistically significant difference between the mean IMA levels of BI, ICH, and SAH patients and the mean control patient IMA levels (P b .0001).
Conclusions: Ischemia-modified albumin levels are high in cerebrovascular diseases. Ischemia-modified albumin measurement can also be used to distinguish SAH from BI during the acute phase of cerebrovascular event in the emergency department.