Fatty Acids and Lipid Paradox-Neuroprotective Biomarkers in Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Stroke is the primary cause of death and disability worldwide, with ischemic stroke up to 80% of the total cases. Lipid profile was established as a major risk factor for stroke, but recent studies show a paradoxical relationship between serum values and the outcome of stroke patients. Our study aims to analyze the impact of the classic extended lipid profile, including fatty acids as potential neuroprotective biomarkers for the outcome of ischemic stroke patients. We included 298 patients and collected clinical, paraclinical, and outcome parameters. We used a method consisting of high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to quantify serum fatty acids. We observed a negative correlation between National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at admission and total cholesterol (p = 0.040; r = −0.120), respectively triglycerides (p = 0.041; r = −0.122). The eicosapentaenoic to arachidonic acid ratio has a negative correlation, while the docosahexaenoic to eicosapentaenoic acid ratio positively correlates with all the prognostic parameters, showing a potential neuroprotective role for eicosapentaenoic acid in preventing severe ischemic stroke. The impact of the lipid profile paradox and the dependency relationship with the fatty acids represent a significant predictive factor for the functional and disability prognostic of ischemic stroke patients.