Correlation of serum interleukin-6 and interleukin-18 levels to carotid artery intimal-medial thickness in patients with acute cerebral infarction / 中华神经医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the correlation of serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-18levels to carotid artery intimal-medial thickness (IMT) in patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI).Methods In 64 patients with ACI and 30 healthy volunteers, serum IL-6 and IL-18 levels were detectedusing radioimmunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Carotid arteryIMT were measured in the two groups using color Doppler ultrasound, and the ACI patients were dividedinto two groups with carotid IMT greater or lower than 1.0 mm. Results The ACI patients and thehealthy volunteers showed significant differences in serum IL-6 (P<0.05) and IL-18 levels (P<0.05),which were also significantly different between ACI patients with carotid IMT ≥ 1.0 mm and those withIMT<1.0 mm (P<0.05). The ACI patients with IMT<1.0 mm had comparable serum IL-6 and IL-18 levelsto those in the healthy volunteers. In patients with carotid IMT ≥ 1.0 mm, the serum IL-18 level waspositively correlated to IMT (r=0.549, P=0.001), but the IL-6 level was not related to IMT (P>0.05).Conclusion The serum levels of IL-6 and IL-18 are elevated in ACI patients with increased carotid IMT.