VEGF-A HAPLOTYPE IS ASSOCIATED WITH STROKE DISABILITY

Background : Although it is recognized that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) is involved in stroke pathophysiology, there are few studies on how VEGF polymorphisms affect susceptibility of stroke and degree of disability of disease. Methods : Performing TaqMan® genotyping assays, we determined genotypes and haplotypes frequencies of -2578C>A and -634G>C polymorphisms of VEGF promoter region in 100 Brazilian patients with stroke and 119 controls. Results: No significant differences were observed in the distributions of alleles and genotypes of two polymorphisms (P>0.05) in both groups, even when groups were classified by ethnicity (P>0.05). However, combination of polymorphisms showed that “A-2578 C-634” haplotype was significantly more frequent in white healthy subjects than stroke patients (P<0.0125), moreover the same haplotype seems to be related to stroke patients presenting higher disability scale (P=0.0071), as classified by modified Rankin Scale. Conclusions: These findings suggest a dual effect of “A-2578 C-634” haplotype to stroke.