B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Can Distinguish Ischemic Stroke Subtypes Better than Other Cardiac Biomarkers.

BACKGROUND The primary benefit to patients of being able to distinguish among subtypes of ischemic stroke (IS) is creation of a better treatment decision-making process. Current classification methods are complex and time-consuming, requiring hours to days. Blood-based cardiac biomarker measurements have the potential to improve mechanism classification of ischemic stroke. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this study, 223 patients with IS were selected as the case group and 75 healthy people who underwent physical examination at the same time were selected as the control group. The chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) method established in this study was used to quantitatively detect plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels in subjects. All subjects were assessed for serum creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB (CK-MB), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), and myoglobin (MYO) after admission. We investigated the effectiveness of BNP and other cardiac biomarkers in the diagnosis of different subtypes of IS. RESULTS The levels of the 4 cardiac biomarkers were increased in IS patients. BNP could better diagnose different types of IS compared to other cardiac biomarkers, and BNP combined with other cardiac biomarkers was better than a single indicator in diagnosing IS. CONCLUSIONS Compared with other cardiac biomarkers, BNP is a better marker for the diagnosis of different subtypes of ischemic stroke. Routine screening for BNP in IS patients is recommended to improve the treatment decision-making process and minimize the time to thrombosis, thereby providing a more precise treatment for patients with different subtypes of stroke.

Low erythrocyte folate levels and increased risk of invasive cervical cancer in Chinese women.

AIM: To investigate the relationship between erythrocyte folate levels and cervical lesions. METHODS: Using a case-control method, patients with cervical lesions from September 2021 to February 2022 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jiangnan University Hospital were selected as study subjects. After cervical biopsy, 40 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) CIN3 and 65 cases of cervical cancer as case group. The normal population of 120 cases attending the same period served as the control group. A competitive model was used to establish a chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) for human erythrocyte folate. Erythrocyte folate levels of 225 subjects were determined. RESULTS: Serum folate levels were 7.82 ± 3.13, 8.04 ± 3.58, and 7.58 ± 4.30 ng/ml in the control, CIN3, and cervical cancer groups, with no statistically significant differences (p = 0.959). Erythrocyte folate levels were 307.27 ± 122.95, 306.52 ± 189.77, and 285.42 ± 125.74 ng/ml, respectively, with statistically significant differences (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In a population of middle-aged Chinese women, the lower the erythrocyte folate value, the greater the risk of cervical cancer. In addition, serum folate levels were not associated with cervical lesions.