Association between Plasma Adipocytokines Levels and Intracranial versus Extracranial Atherosclerotic among Chinese Patients with Stroke

BACKGROUND: To detect the levels of plasma Adipocytokines, TNF-α, IL-6 and PAI-1 in patients with intracranial and extracranial arteriosclerosis. METHODS: From September 2015 to September 2017, 318 patients aged ≥60 years were enrolled. Overall, 192 patients were included in the case group (intracranial and extracranial arteriosclerosis group). The 196 outpatients who matched the case groupware selected as the control group. The levels of plasma APN, TNF-α, IL-6 and PAI-1 were measured and their inter- and intra-group comparisons were performed using t-test or analysis of variance. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to study the correlation between intracranial arteriosclerosis and extracranial arteriosclerosis. RESULTS: The level of plasma APN in the intracranial and extracranial arteriosclerosis group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P=0.025). The plasma levels of PAI-1, TNF-α and IL-6 were obviously higher than those in the control group (P=0.003, P=0.008, P=0.043). In the intracranial arteriosclerosis group, the level of plasma APN in patients with arterial stenosis ≥70% was significantly lower than that in patients with stenosis 30%–69% (P=0.028). CONCLUSION: Plasma APN, PAI-1, IL-6 and TNF-α levels can be used as monitoring indicators of intracranial and extracranial arteriosclerosis. Intracranial arteriosclerosis is significantly associated with the decrease of plasma APN level and the increase of plasma PAI- 1, IL-6 and TNF-α levels.