Effects of cerebral artery thrombectomy on efficacy, safety, cognitive function and peripheral blood Aβ, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in patients with acute cerebral infarction

Objective: Acute cerebral infarction (ACI) can lead to death or disability, posing a serious threat to human health. This study aimed to investigate the effects of cerebral artery thrombectomy on the efficacy, safety, cognitive function and peripheral blood amyloid-β (Aβ), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels in patients with ACI.

Methods: The clinical data of 169 patients with ACI admitted to our hospital from April 2019 to September 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Among them, 100 patients were treated with cerebral artery thrombectomy and assigned to the research group, and the other 69 patients were intervened by conventional treatment and assigned to the control group. The clinical effects in the two groups were observed and compared. The cognitive function was evaluated by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), the neurological dysfunction was assessed by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and the prognosis was determined by the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Peripheral blood Aβ1-40, Aβ1-42, IL-6 and TNF-α levels were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The incidence of adverse reactions and complications was statistically analyzed.

Results: The overall response rate (ORR) was notably higher in the research group compared with the control group. Aβ1-40, Aβ1-42, IL-6 and TNF-α levels showed no significant difference between the two groups before treatment (P>0.05). After treatment, serum Aβ1-40 level was lower and Aβ1-42 was higher in the research group compared with the control group at each time point. Serum IL-6 level was markedly higher within 24 h while it was dramatically lower 24 h after treatment in the research group as compared with the control group. At 24 h, 7 d and 14 d after treatment, serum TNF-α level in the research group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The MMSE and MoCA scores showed no significant differences between the two groups before treatment; however, the two scores in the research group were statistically higher than those in the control group after treatment. In addition, lower NIHSS and mRS scores were determined in the research group compared with the control group after treatment. Moreover, except for the statistically significant difference in the number of cases with cognitive dysfunction (P<0.05), there was no significant difference in the incidence of other adverse reactions between the research group and the control group (P>0.05).

Conclusions: Cerebral artery thrombectomy is effective in the treatment of ACI, which can improve the cognitive function of patients and alleviate the high Aβ accumulation and inflammation in the central nervous system, with a high safety profile.