Lack of Associations Between PAI-1 and FXIII Polymorphisms and Arterial Ischemic Stroke in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The role of genetic risk factors for ischemic stroke seems to be in particular significance in pediatric patients. Numerous polymorphic variants of genes encoding proteins, that is, plasminogen activator inhibitor as well as coagulation factors, involved in the coagulation cascade may be related to arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) both in adults and children. We performed systematic review and 2 meta-analyses to assess possible correlations between common plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) and FXIII polymorphisms and ischemic stroke in children. We searched PubMed to identify available data published before October 2018 using appropriate keywords and inclusion criteria. Finally, 12 case–control studies were included: 8 analyzing PAI-1 polymorphism (600 children with stroke and 2152 controls) and 4—FXIII polymorphism (358 children with stroke and 451 controls). R and Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software were used to analyze the impact of the particular polymorphism in the following models: dominant, recessive, additive, and allelic. No publication bias was observed in both meta-analyses. In case of PAI-1 polymorphism, we observed no relation between 4G4G genotype of 4G allele and ischemic stroke in children. We also demonstrated lack of association between FXIII polymorphism and childhood ischemic stroke. In children with AIS, the PAI-1 and FXIII polymorphisms are not risk factors for the disease.