Reversible Splenial Lesion Syndrome (RESLES) After Chemotherapy of Oral Tegafur-uracil in a Female With Locally Rectal Adenocarcinoma.

A 42-year-old woman with reversible splenial lesion syndrome (RESLES) and rectal adenocarcinoma presented with sudden-onset delirium after the sixth cycle of her chemotherapy drug, oral tegafur-uracil (300 mg/m/day, days 1-14, with treatment cycle repeated every 21 days). Accompanied by the anti-CV2 antibody, paraphasia, and a loss of bimanual coordination, the patient's etiology and clinical manifestations of RESLES are unlike those of other reported cases of RESLES. Tegafur-uracil is an oral fluoropyrimidine that has a similar effect to 5-fluorouracil as an adjuvant treatment for colorectal cancer. The possibility that the toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs may play a role in the pathogenesis of cytotoxic edema in the splenium of the corpus callosum and extracallosal white matter should be investigated further.

Nitrogen-Doped Highly Photoluminescent Carbon Dots Derived from Citric Acid and Guanidine Carbonate.

A facile one-pot hydrothermal method for fabricating nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) was developed by using citric acid as a carbon source and guanidine carbonate as a nitrogen and carbon source. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectra indicated that the N-CDs were rich in elemental nitrogen. They had excellent stability in the presence of various salt concentrations and under UV irradiation. The N-CDs exhibited high quantum yields (52%), as well as down-conversion and up-conversion photoluminescence. The N-CD photoluminescence was quenched in the presence of Hg2+, while nearly no intensity changes were observed when in the presence of Na+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Ba2+, Cd2+ or Ca2+. The binding constant (KSV) and detection limit were also determined.

An investigation of the levels of vitamins A, D, and E in the serum of Chinese pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: Vitamins A, D (Vitamin D2 and vitamin D3) and E, play an important role during pregnancy. METHODS: Sera were collected from 1056 normal pregnant women, who were between 18 and 40 years old, at seven different hospitals in northeastern China. The levels of Vitamin A and E in the sera samples were detected using HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography), and the level of vitamin D was measured by LC-MS (Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 21. RESULTS: The mean levels of vitamin A, D and E in the 1056 sera samples were 0.39 mg/L (0.38-0.39), 20.44 µg/L (19.86-21.08) and 12.96 mg/L (12.70-13.25), respectively. The levels of vitamin A, D, and E deficiency were 17.05%, 0.19%, and 56.44%, respectively. The levels of vitamin A, D, and E of those between age 21 and 31 among the 1056 pregnant women were similar. The correlation of vitamin E and D was significant at the .01 level (two-tailed), and the correlation of vitamin A and age was significant at the .05 level (2-tailed). CONCLUSION: According to our finding, the levels of vitamin A, D, and E in the sera of pregnant women in northeastern China were affected by where they live and their age. Vitamin D deficiency was very serious, vitamin A deficiency was common, while vitamin E seems to be sufficient.

The Effects of Platelet-Rich Plasma and Adipose-Derived Stem Cells on Neovascularization and Fat Graft Survival.

BACKGROUND: Adipose-derived stem cell (ADSCs)-assisted and platelet-rich plasma (PRP)-assisted lipofilling aim to enhance angiogenesis and cell proliferation and are promising techniques for lipofilling. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of ADSCs-assisted and PRP-assisted lipofilling. METHODS: Adipose tissue and human venous blood were obtained from women with early breast cancer. Human ADSCs were isolated and amplified in vitro. PRP was extracted through double centrifugation. The effect of PRP on ADSCs proliferation was evaluated. In the in vivo study, 1 ml of adipose tissue with saline (control group), PRP (PRP group), or ADSCs (ADSCs group) was injected subcutaneously into the dorsum of nude mice. At 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after injection, tissues were assessed for volume retention and ultrasound abnormality. For histological assessment, hematoxylin and eosin staining were performed. RESULTS: Cytokines in PRP and blood were comparable. Regarding the in vitro assay, PRP significantly improved ADSCs proliferation, and the effect was dose-dependent. Concerning the in vivo study, for each time point, ADSCs-assisted lipofilling showed superior volume maintenance. Similarly, the PRP group showed improved angiogenesis and fat survival, as compared with the control group. The angiogenic effect of PRP was inferior to that of ADSCs at most time points. No significant difference was observed at 12 weeks after lipofilling. Complication rates were comparable between the PRP group and ADSCs group. CONCLUSIONS: PRP-assisted and ADSCs-assisted lipofilling can significantly improve the cosmetic results of grafted fat. PRP-assisted lipofilling, which is considered convenient and clinically available, is a promising technique to improve neovascularization and fat survival. NO LEVEL ASSIGNED: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

[Clinical Trial of Intraoperative Tissue Identification for Breast-Conserving Surgery Using Bio-impedance Spectroscopy].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of bio-impedance spectroscopy (BIS) analysis for marginal tissue malignancy/benignancy identification during Breast-Conserving Surgery (BCS). METHODS: A multicenter parallel-group clinical trial was conducted with the patients who received breast conserving surgery in 2 hospitals. One hundred and fifty breast tissue specimens were collected and analyzed by BIS, frozen section biopsy and paraffin section biopsy respectively. Results were compared and statistical analysis was implemented. RESULTS: For BIS technique to identify malignant/benign marginal tissues, the sensitivity was 92.98%, and the specificity was 94.62%. The coherence of BIS results and frozen section biopsy results was significant, and the Kappa value was higher than 0.75. The mean measuring time of BIS was 2.63 min, which was shorter than frozen section biopsy (18.97 min) and paraffin section biospy (1.12 d). CONCLUSION: BIS technique likely has high accuracy in tissue identification so has potential to be adopted as a real-time indicator for marginal tissue malignancy/benignancy identification during breast-conserving surgery.

Basilar artery atherosclerosis and hypertensive small vessel disease in isolated pontine infarctions: a study based on high-resolution MRI.

BACKGROUND: Isolated pontine infarctions are classified as paramedian pontine infarction (PPI) and lacunar pontine infarction (LPI), usually attributed to basilar artery (BA) atherosclerosis and small vessel disease (SVD), respectively. Recently, researchers found BA atherosclerotic plaques in LPI and made the pathogenesis of LPI confusing. METHODS: We evaluated the presence and location of BA plaques with high-resolution MRI and SVD burden with presence of hypertension, leukoaraiosis and silent brain infarction. RESULTS: The prevalence of BA plaques and SVD was similar between PPI and LPI, with most plaques relevant to corresponding infarctions. Some PPI had no plaques; some LPI had no obvious SVD. CONCLUSION: SVD and BA plaques with or without lumen stenosis were both possible causes of PPI and LPI.

Analysis of phellinus igniarius effects on gastric cancer cells by atomic force microscopy.

Gastric cancer is one of the common malignant tumors in the world, which originates from the gene mutation of human cells. In this work, an atomic force microscope was used to quantitatively detect the changes of multiple physical parameters such as the cell morphology, surface roughness, elasticity modulus and adhesion force before and after Phellinus linteus stimulation. The experimental results show that Phellinus linteus can change the shape of gastric cancer cells (SGC-7901) from flat to spherical, and increase their height and surface roughness values. The adhesion force of cells is reduced and the elasticity modulus is increased. But there are no significant differences in the morphology and mechanical properties of gastric epithelial cells (GES-1). The results indicate that Phellinus linteus has a high anticancer effect on the gastric cancer cells, but has less toxic side effects on the gastric epithelial cells. This work proves that Phellinus linteus can be used as a preferred anticancer drug for the treatment of gastric cancer cells.

A clinical study on regional lymphatic chemotherapy using an activated carbon nanoparticle-epirubicin in patients with breast cancer.

The purpose of this study was to understand the short-term therapeutic effects of an activated carbon nanoparticle-epirubicin suspension for regional lymphatic chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. One hundred and twenty patients with stage I, II, or III primary breast cancer were randomly divided into three groups: the lymphatic chemotherapy group using the activated carbon nanoparticle-epirubicin suspension, the epirubicin control group, and the activated carbon control group. Each group of 40 patients was further divided into two subgroups with the drug injected either 24 or 48 h before surgery. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay was used to determine cancer cell apoptotic indices in metastatic lymph nodes. The epirubicin concentration in the black-stained lymph nodes in the lymphatic chemotherapy treatment group was 4,144.64 ± 2,426.44 ng/g, which is significantly higher than in the epirubicin control group (335.87 ± 212.82 ng/g, P < 0.001). The plasma epirubicin concentrations at 0.5, 1.5, and 24 h postinjection in the regional lymphatic chemotherapy treatment group were significantly lower than in the epirubicin control group (P < 0.001). Tolerable mild pain was observed at the injection area after administration of the epirubicin-activated carbon nanoparticle suspension. No regional necrosis or adverse effects were found. The TUNEL assay demonstrated that there was no significant difference in the apoptotic indices in the metastatic lymph nodes from the three groups. Performing lymphatic chemotherapy by regionally injecting the epirubicin-activated carbon nanoparticle suspension could significantly enhance the drug concentration in the stained lymph nodes and lower the plasma drug concentration. The epirubicin-activated carbon nanoparticle suspension has the ability to release the drug slowly in the lymph nodes and, as a result, can prolong the chemotherapeutic effects.

Expression and ultrastructural localization of Mint2 in the spinal cord of rats.

Mint protein family, as adaptor molecules, contains three members, Mint1, Mint2 and Mint3. Although Mint3 is ubiquitously expressed, Mint1 and Mint2 have been reported to express specifically in neuron. Here we demonstrated Mint1 and Mint2 expression pattern in rat spinal cord. The protein level of Mint2 was found to be higher than that of Mint1 in rat spinal by western blot. In an attempt to know Mint2 distribution in the spinal cord of rat, in situ hybridization was carried out, Mint2 mRNA was showed to be ubiquitously distributed in cervical, thoracic and lumbar sections of rat spinal cord, and high intensive signal was detected in motor neurons. These were further confirmed by fluorescent immunohistochemistry, Mint2 was also found to exist throughout gray matter especially motor neurons where Mint2 was mainly located in perikaryon, however, Mint1 was showed to be relatively lower. By electron microscope, Mint2 was found to be mainly located in vesicles in perikaryon in motor neuron of lumbar section, and at the same time Mint2 was located in axons in myelin and presynaptic terminals. These data suggest that Mint2 may play more important role in spinal cord than the other two family members.

[Effect of combination of taxol and celecoxib on reversing multidrug resistance human breast cancer cells (MCF-7/ Taxol) and explore its underlying mechanism].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the reversal effect of Celecoxib and Taxol on multidrug resistance (MDR) human breast cancer cells (MCF-7/Taxol) and its underlying mechanism. METHODS: After establishing the resistance cell lines of human breast cancer on Taxol (MCF-7/Taxol), the effects of the drugs on the toxicity of MCF-7/Taxol cells and the reversal effect of Celecoxib on MDR were determined by CCK-8 assay. The cells were divided into seven groups (A: MCF-7; B: MCF-7/Taxol; C: MCF-7/Taxol + 0.03 microg/mL Taxol; D: MCF-7/ Taxol + 0 .03 microg/mL Taxol + 3 microg/mL Celecoxib; E: MCF-7/Taxol + 0.03 microg/mL Taxol-6 /g/mL Celecoxib; F: MCF-7/Taxol + 3 microg/mL Celecoxib; G: MCF-7/Taxol + 6 microg/mL Celecoxib). The mRNA levels of MDR1 and BCRP in these treated cells were also determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the protein levels of P-gp and BCRP in these treated cells were also determined by Western blot method. RESULTS: Compared with the Taxol control, the cytotoxicity effects was obviously increased by combination of Taxol and Celecoxib (P < 0.05). Compared with the vehicle control, Taxol up-regulated mRNA and protein levels of P-gp, whereas Celecoxib down-regulated mRNA and protein levels of P-gp and BCRP (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Celecoxib has reversal effect on MDR in MCF-7/Taxol cells, it's possible mechanism might be related to reduce the protein expression of COX-2, the inhibition of P-gp, BCRP mRNA and protein overexpression.

Brivaracetam Prevents the Over-expression of Synaptic Vesicle Protein 2A and Rescues the Deficits of Hippocampal Long-term Potentiation In Vivo in Chronic Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Rats.

BACKGROUND: Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) usually suffer from cognitive deficits and recurrent seizures. Brivaracetam (BRV) is a novel anti-epileptic drug (AEDs) recently used for the treatment of partial seizures with or without secondary generalization. Different from other AEDs, BRV has some favorable properties on synaptic plasticity. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the neuroprotective mechanism of BRV on synaptic plasticity in experimental TLE rats. METHODS: The effect of chronic treatment with BRV (10 mg/kg) was assessed on Pilocarpine induced TLE model through measurement of the field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) in vivo. Differentially expressed synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A) were identified with immunoblot. Then, fast phosphorylation of synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25) during long-term potentiation (LTP) induction was performed to investigate the potential roles of BRV on synaptic plasticity in the TLE model. RESULTS: An increased level of SV2A accompanied by a depressed LTP in the hippocampus was shown in epileptic rats. Furthermore, BRV treatment continued for more than 30 days improved the over-expression of SV2A and reversed the synaptic dysfunction in epileptic rats. Additionally, BRV treatment alleviates the abnormal SNAP-25 phosphorylation at Ser187 during LTP induction in epileptic ones, which is relevant to the modulation of synaptic vesicles exocytosis and voltagegated calcium channels. CONCLUSION: BRV treatment ameliorated the over-expression of SV2A in the hippocampus and rescued the synaptic dysfunction in epileptic rats. These results identify the neuroprotective effect of BRV on TLE model.

Diagnosis and treatment of lymphocutaneous dermatosis caused by Nocardia brasiliensis: a case report.

Cutaneous nocardiosis is a skin disease mainly caused by Nocardia brasiliensis and Nocardia asteroides. Here, we report a rare case of lymphocutaneous dermatosis in an 87-year-old Chinese man infected with Nocardia brasiliensis. An 87-year-old Chinese man presented at our hospital after suffering erythema, nodules, abscesses, ulceration, and pain in the left upper limb for 10 days. The patient was initially misdiagnosed as lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis. The results of gram staining, acid-fast staining, mass spectrograph revealed Nocardia brasiliensis and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) sequencing of samples showed that the patient had a Nocardia brasiliensis infection. Anti-infective therapy with sulfamethoxazole combined with amoxicillin clavulanate potassium was administered for 10 days, followed by sulfamethoxazole alone for 20 days. After 30 days of treatment, the abscess was treated with repeated pus extraction, debridement of erosion and ulcer, wet compress of povidone iodine solution and spectrum of multi-source instrument. The redness and swelling had subsided, and purulent secretion and ulceration had decreased. Lymphocutaneous nocardiosis can easily be misdiagnosed as sporotrichosis based on its clinical manifestations. However, mass spectrometry analysis showed Nocardia brasiliensis according to the fingerprint of the bacteria and 16S rRNA sequencing to identify bacterial DNA can assist with making a diagnosis. For patients with Nocardia brasiliensis, sulfamethoxazole combined with amoxicillin clavulanate potassium is an effective anti-infective treatment.

Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography-guided phototherapeutic keratectomy for the treatment of anterior corneal scarring.

AIM: To evaluate the safety, visual and anatomic outcomes of fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT)-guided excimer laser phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) combined with photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) surgery in treating anterior corneal scarring. METHODS: Clinical data of 23 eyes of 21 patients with anterior corneal scarring underwent FD-OCT-guided PTK and PRK from Dec. 2014 to Jul. 2016 were reviewed. Patients were assessed for preoperative and postoperative uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), contrast sensitivity (CS), FD-OCT, corneal topography and colour figures of anterior segments. RESULTS: The preoperative corneal pathologic conditions included viral keratitis (7 patients, 7 eyes), band keratopathy (2 patients, 4 eyes), corneal dystrophy (4 patients, 4 eyes), traumatic corneal disease (2 patients, 2 eyes) and corneal chemical injury (6 patients, 6 eyes). Mean follow-up time was 10.65 (range, 3-19)mo. UCVA (in logMAR) improved from a mean of 0.79 (95%CI, 0.28-1.29) preoperatively to a mean of 0.45 (95%CI, 0.29-0.62) postoperatively (P=0.021). BSCVA (in logMAR) improved from 0.57 (95%CI, 0.27-0.88) preoperatively to a mean of 0.28 (95%CI, 0.15-0.41) postoperatively (P=0.001). Corneal topographic indices postoperatively showed significant improvement in corneal cylinder (P=0.009), the surface regularity index (P=0.007) and surface asymmetry index (P=0.00). Postoperative spherical equivalent averaged -0.53 diopters (-1.49 to 0.42). No complications were associated with the treatment. CONCLUSION: FD-OCT-guided PTK combined with PRK is safe and effective for the treatment of anterior corneal scarring by eliminating or reducing corneal opacities.

Association Between PSD95 Gene 3'UTR Single Nucleotide Polymorphism and Risk of Acute Ischemic Stroke in Chinese Han Population.

To study the association between the 3'UTR single nucleotide polymorphism of PSD95 gene and the risk of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in Chinese Han population. PSD95 gene 3'UTR rs191350575, rs314254, rs58197058, rs314253, rs314252, rs188777, rs11652753, rs79715480, and rs13331 genotypes of a total of 280 AIS patients and 280 healthy controls were analyzed. The prognosis outcomes of all AIS patients were analyzed after 3 years of follow-up. The risk of AIS in the rs58197058 locus A allele was 1.76 times higher than the G allele (95%CI 1.53-1.92, p < 0.01). The rs314252 locus A allele carrier was 1.29 times more likely to develop AIS than the G allele (95%CI 1.14-1.45, p < 0.01). The rs13331 locus A allele was a high-risk factor for ASI (adjusted OR = 1.18, 95%CI 1.05-1.33, p = 0.01). The interaction model between Alcohol, DM, Hypertension, rs58197058, and rs314252 predicted the highest accuracy of AIS, with a corresponding sensitivity of 75.36%, specificity of 85.00%, and cross-validation consistency (CVC) of 10/10 (p < 0.01). There was a significant correlation between rs58197058, rs314252, and rs13331 SNPs and plasma FG, TC, HDL-c, and LDL-c levels in AIS patients. The PSD95 gene 3'UTR rs58197058, rs314252, and rs13331 SNPs are associated with the occurrence and prognosis of Chinese Han AIS patients.

Survivin is involved in the anti-apoptotic effect of edaravone in PC12 cells.

Edaravone (3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one), a newly developed hydroxy radical scavaging agent which has been widely used for protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury is highly effective in preventing cell apoptosis. However, the exact intracellular mechanism(s) underlying the protective action of edaravone is not clear. We observed that in PC12 cells cultured under serum deprivation (DEPV) condition, the levels of survivin were positively correlated with the anti-apoptotic action of edaravone. Survivin RNA interference (RNAi) increased DEPV-induced PC12 cell apoptosis, whereas the anti-apoptotic effect of edaravone was blunted by survivin RNAi. Moreover, survivin overexpression provided protection against DEPV-induced PC12 cell apoptosis. Inhibition of ERK and PI(3)-K/AKT prevented edaravone's ability to decrease apoptosis and increase survivin. In conclusion, the present study provides the first direct evidence that survivin involves in the anti-apoptotic effects of edaravone via a pathway involving ERK and PI(3)-K/AKT.

An Investigation of Vitamin Levels Status in the Serum of Children in China.

This study was to investigate the vitamin levels in the serum of children in the Northeast of China and some factors associated with the vitamin levels. The sera were obtained from 2096 normal children aged 1 month to 12 years in the Northeast of China. Vitamins A and E were detected using their sera by HPLC, and the level of vitamin D was detected by LC-MS. The 20 overweight children were chosen from the 7-8 age range and took additional vitamins studies for extra 3 months. The data were analyzed by IBM SPSS Statistics 21. The average levels of vitamins A, D, and E in sera samples from the 2096 children were 0.2715mg/L (95%CI, 0.2715-0.2791mg/L), 26.2848µg/L (95%CI, 25.7900-26.7786µg/L), and 8.6137mg/L (95% CI, 8.5077-8.7198mg/L), respectively. The percentages of vitamins A, D, and E deficiency were 19.61%, 47.47%, and 0.62%, respectively. For 20 children from the VDD or VAD groups, after giving them more VA and VD for 3 months, the levels of VA and VD in the sera were increased significantly; however, the average BMI has barely changed. According to our finding, vitamin D deficiency was severe, vitamin A deficiency was common, and vitamin E was insufficient in the sera of children in the Northeast of China. The levels of vitamins A, D, and E were correlated with age and overweight.

[MiR-218 inhibits HTR-8 cells migration and invasion by targeting SOX4].

OBJECTIVE: To verify whether miR-218 could inhibit human trophoblastic cell (HTR-8 cells) migration and invasion by target-ing sex determining region Y-box 4(SOX4). METHODS: The serum samples were collected from 46 hypertensive disorder complicating pregnan-cy (HDCP) and 50 normal pregnant women. RT-PCR was used to test the expression of miR-218 in the serum. In vitro, MiR-218 was trans-fe cted into HTR-8 cells. The HTR-8 cells were divided into three groups:normal control group, mimic control and miR-218 mimic group. The migratory and invasion ability of HTR-8 cells was tested, and the expressions of matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2), MMP-9 and Sox4 were also investigated in the cells of each group. Luciferase assay was used to confirme whether Sox4-3'-UTR was the target gene of miR-218. RESULTS: The expression of miR-218 was decreased in the serum of HDCP patients compared with the normal pregnant woman(P < 0.01). In vit-ro, compared with the control group, the invasion and migration ability of HTR-8 cells and the expression of MMP-2 MMP-9 and SOX4 were decreased in the miR-218 group (P < 0.01); The Luciferase activity of the SOX4-3'-UTR plasmid was significantly suppressed by miR-218 (P < 0.01); Over expression of SOX4 could reverse the effect of miR-218 on HTR-8 cells(P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The expression of miR-218 decreases in the serum of HDPC patients and miR-218 inhibits HTR-8 cells invasion by targeting SOX4-3'-UTR.

Separation and identification of Aconitum alkaloids and their metabolites in human urine.

To study the safety of Aconitum medicinal herbs in clinic and identify Aconitum alkaloids poisoning in forensic medicine, Aconitum alkaloids and their metabolites were separated and identified in human urine by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-multi-stage mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS(n)) and chemical pathway of metabolism was investigated. The alkaloids and their metabolites in the urine sample were extracted with solid-phase cartridges and separated by HPLC with acetonitrile-water-formic acid (40:60:0.5) mobile phase. Structures of five metabolites and three parent Aconitum alkaloids were identified with multi-stage mass spectrometry data through comparison with authentic substances as aconitine (M(1)), mesaconitine (M(2)), hypaconitine (M(3)), benzoylaconine (M(4)), benzoylmesaconine (M(5)), benzoylhypaconine (M(6)), 16-O-demethylaconitine (M(7)) and 16-O-demethylhypaconitine (M(8)), respectively. Among them, M(8) was identified and reported for the first time. Metabolic pathways of Aconitum alkaloids in human body were proposed.

Serum iron and A(2)DS(2) score in stroke-associated pneumonia.

To evaluate the efficacy of serum biomarkers such as iron, procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP) and A(2)DS(2) scores at hospital admission to predict the onset and severity of stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP), 101 patients with acute stroke were selected and divided into the control and SAP group. Compared with control group, no significant differences were discovered in age, sex, vascular risk factors including hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia, chronic lung disease of SAP group, while a significantly higher level was found in incidence of dysphagia, NIHSS score, A(2)DS(2) score, CURB-65 score, serum iron, serum ferritin, PCT and CRP (P < 0.01). The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that serum iron, serum ferritin, PCT, CRP, A(2)DS(2) score and CURB-65 score had relatively high values in the SAP prediction (all P < 0.01, all AUC > 0.5). When combined ferritin, PCT, and A(2)DS(2) scores and other indicators with CRP for SAP prediction, the model had a larger area under the curve (AUC) and higher specificity than individual prediction models. Spearman regression analysis presented that serum iron, serum ferritin and A(2)DS(2) score were highly correlated with CURB-65 score (P < 0.01). It was suggested that Serum iron and A(2)DS(2) score measured at admission were effective indicators in SAP prediction which could be used for SAP screening and severity prediction. Besides, the specificity in SAP prediction could be improved when Serum iron and A(2)DS(2) score combined with CRP.