Oxidation‑reduction potential parameters worsen following intraarterial therapy in patients with reduced collateral circulation and middle cerebral artery occlusions

Collateral circulation is important for cerebral perfusion in acute ischemic strokes. Monitoring the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) may be useful to assess collateral status or treatment efficacy. The objectives of the present study were to determine if the ORP was associated with collateral circulation status in middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusions and to identify patterns in the ORP and the collateral circulation status among patients treated with intraarterial therapy (IAT) over time. The present pilot study was nested within a prospective cohort study measuring the ORP of the peripheral venous plasma of stroke patients. The population included in the present study were patients with MCA (M1/M2) occlusions. Two ORP parameters were examined: Static ORP (sORP; mV), indicating oxidative stress, and capacity ORP (cORP; µC), indicating antioxidant reserves. Collateral status was retrospectively graded using Miteff's system as good (grade 1) or reduced (grade 2/3). Comparisons were made between collateral status groups (reduced vs. good collaterals) in all patients, within a subset including only patients who received IAT, and between thrombolysis in cerebral infraction scale score (TICI) groups (0-2a vs. 2b/3). The Fisher's exact test, Student's t-test and Wilcoxon tests were used (α<0.20). The 19 patients were categorized based on their collaterals: Good collaterals (53%) and reduced collaterals (47%). The baseline characteristics were similar with the exception that the patients with good collaterals had a lower international normalized ratio (P=0.12) and were more likely to have a stroke on the left side (P=0.18) or to have a mismatch (P=0.05). The admission sORP values were comparable (169.5 vs. 164.2 mV; P=0.65), as was admission cORP (P=0.73). When considering only the patients who received IAT (n=12), admission sORP (P=0.69) and cORP (P=0.90) were also statistically similar. On day 2, after IAT, both groups experienced a worsening in ORP measures; however, the patients with good collaterals had a significantly lower sORP (169.4 vs. 203.5 mV; P=0.02) and a higher cORP (0.2 vs. 0.1 µC; P=0.002) compared with the patients with reduced collaterals. Neither sORP nor cORP were significantly different between TICI score groups on admission or on day 2. Upon discharge, patients with a TICI of 2b-3 had a significantly better sORP (P=0.03) and cORP (P=0.12) compared with those with a TICI of 0-2a. In conclusion, upon patient admission, the ORP parameters were not significantly different between the collateral circulation status groups for MCA occlusions. The ORP parameters worsened after IAT regardless of the collateral circulation status; however, after IAT, on day 2, patients with good collaterals experienced less oxidative stress (sORP) and had higher antioxidant reserves (cORP) than patients with reduced collaterals.