DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2019.v07i10.050

Pages: 3465-3469

Cerebrovascular stroke remains largely a clinical diagnosis. The use of biomarkers in diagnosing stroke and assessing prognosis is an emerging and rapidly evolving field. Neuron Specific Enolase (NSE) is mentioned as a possible reliable marker of neuronal tissue damage. It is released from neurons after infarction. High levels of serum NSE is correlated with worse clinical outcome. This study is aimed to investigate the difference in level of serum neuron specific enolase within 72 hours of stroke in hyperglycemic and normoglycemic ischemic stroke patients with left middle cerebral artery infarct and its correlation with NIHSS score & modified Rankin scale. This cross-sectional study was conducted in tertiary health care. Newly diagnosed cases of 25 hyperglycemic (FBS > 126mg/dl) and 25 normoglycemic (FBS< 126mg/dl) ischemic stroke patients (diagnosed by CT scan, clinical signs &symptoms) within the age group of 22 to 86 years of both sexes were included in the study. Serum NSE showed a positive correlation with serum FBS, NIHSS, modified Rankin scale and it was found statistically significant (P value <.0.05). The increased NSE serum levels correspond to the ischemia-induced cytoplasm loss of NSE in the neurons and are detectable before irreversible neuronal damage takes place. The rise in blood glucose levels increases serum NSE level. NSE in blood is the earliest parameter for prognostic classification, earlier than any other methods such as regularly repeated neurological examinations, neuroimaging (cranial CT or magnetic resonance imaging) or electrophysiological assays so NSE can be used as a diagnostic parameter of stroke thereby to assess stroke severity.