Background: Post-stroke cognitive impairment is a clinically heterogeneous condition, some types of which cannot be fully differentiated neuropsychologically that necessitates the active search for biomarkers.
Aims: Analyze parameters of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in combination with neuroimaging markers in patients with different types of post-stroke cognitive impairment in acute ischemic stroke.
Materials and methods: In 72 patients we performed the assessment of cognitive status and distinguished 3 types: normal cognition, dysexecutive, and mixed cognitive impairment. In each group we determined the concentration of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα, IL-10) in liquor and serum, β-amyloid 1−40 in liquor and a number of MRI morphometric parameters and fractional anisotropy.
Results: In all groups of patients we detected higher level of IL-10 in serum compared with the control. Patients with dysexecutive cognitive impairment had higher concentration of IL-1β, IL-10 in liquor, IL-6 level in serum, lower fractional anisotropy of ipsilateral thalamus compared with patients with normal cognition and largest size of infarct. Patients with dysexecutive and mixed cognitive impairment had the higher area of leukoareosis and ventricular volume, reduced fractional anisotropy of contralateral cingulum compared with patients with normal cognition. Patients with mixed cognitive impairment characterized by lower fractional anisotropy of contralateral fronto-occipital fasciculus compared with patients with dysexecutive cognitive deficit.
Conclusions: Serum and cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of cytokines studied in combination with MRI parameters particularly fractional anisotropy seems to be informative biomarkers of pathogenic types of PSCI.