The relationship between serum interleukin-6 levels with lesion size and early functional worsening in acute ischemic stroke

Aim: In this study, the relationship between ischemic lesion size, localization and early neurological functional impairment of serum Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in the acute phase are investigated. Patients and Method: Fifty five patients who are diagnosed acute cerebral infarct by history, neurologic examination and computerized brain tomography (CT) were included in the study. The control group consisted of 25 healthy volunteers of similar age range with the patient group.The patients were subdivided into 4 groups according to the size and localization of the infarct on CT. The early neurologic functional stage was evaluated by modified Rankine Score. Results: Serum IL-6 levels were found significantly higher in all patients groups compared to healthy control group (p=0.001). IL-6 levels of patients with large lesions in CT were found significantly higher than that of patients with small lesions, but there were no significant difference with regard to localization of the lesion. IL-6 levels of poor early functional worsening group were found significantly higher than good functional group. There was a significant weak correlation between IL-6 levels and leukocyte count and fibrinogen levels. Conclusion: The elevation of serum IL-6 levels correlates with lesion size and prognosis suggesting that IL-6 is intrathecally released and may play an important role in stroke pathophysiology. Furthermore, evaluation of the inflammatory response after acute ischemic stroke with IL-6 may provide insight into the size of the cerebral infarction and deterioration with early function worsening