PARK7 and Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase A as Plasma Markers for the Early Diagnosis of Stroke

Background: Plasma markers for stroke could be useful in diagnosis and prognosis and in prediction of response of stroke patients to therapy. PARK7 and nucleoside diphosphate kinase A (NDKA) are increased in human postmortem cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a model of global brain insult, suggesting that measurement in CSF and, more importantly, in plasma may be useful as a biomarker of stroke. Methods: We used ELISA to measure PARK7 and NDKA in plasma in 3 independent European and North American retrospective studies encompassing a total of 622 stroke patients and 165 control individuals. Results: Increases in both biomarkers were highly significant, with sensitivities of 54%–91% for PARK7 and 70%–90% for NDKA and specificities of 80%–97% for PARK7 and 90%–97% for NDKA. The concentrations of both biomarkers increased within 3 h of stroke onset. Conclusions: PARK7 and NDKA may be useful plasma biomarkers for the early diagnosis of stroke. In addition, this study demonstrated the utility of analysis of postmortem CSF proteins as a first step in the discovery of plasma markers of ischemic brain injury.