Serum adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein associated with ischemic stroke and early death.

Objective: Adipocyte fatty acid–binding protein (A-FABP) is an adipokine shown to have adverse metabolic and proinflammatory effects, and contributes to atherosclerosis in mice. However, its role in cardiovascular diseases in humans remains to be established. In this case-control study, we investigated the association of serum A-FABP with ischemic stroke, and examined its association with early mortality. Methods: Serum A-FABP was measured, using ELISA, in 306 subjects with acute ischemic stroke and 306 age-, sex-, and body mass index–matched controls. All controls were free of cardiovascular diseases. Serum A-FABP was also measured in another 60 ischemic stroke subjects who died within 3 months of acute stroke. Results: Serum A-FABP was higher in subjects with ischemic stroke as compared to controls (19.6 ng/mL [14.3–28.4 ng/mL] vs 15.2 ng/mL [10.6–23.6 ng/mL] in men and 32.4 ng/mL [24.5–45.7 ng/mL] vs 22.0 ng/mL [14.3–34.0 ng/mL] in women, stroke vs control, p p p p = 0.018), independent of age and NIH Stroke Scale score. Conclusions: Serum A-FABP was significantly associated with ischemic stroke in our case-control study, and may serve as a useful prognostic indicator for early mortality.