Role of hepatocyte growth factor in diagnosing and predicting recurrence of stroke

Objective To research whether serum hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) level increases in ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke, and explore the relationship between the serum HGF level and stroke recurrence. Methods We studied a total of 92 consecutive acute stroke patients who had been admitted to hospital within 24h of onset from 6 participating hospitals in Xi'an from January 2000 to May 2004. All patients were divided into ischemic stroke group and hemorrhagic stroke group according to the results of brain computed tomography (CT) scan or MRI on admission. Patients in stroke groups were divided into recurrent group and non-recurrent group. Healthy volunteers or patients without cerebrovascular diseases comprised the control group. Stroke and control groups were strictly matched with 1∶1 ratio. The patients were followed up for 4 years. Serum HGF was tested with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results Serum HGF of stroke patients was significantly higher than that of control group (P<0.05). The serum HGF level in recurrent group was higher than that in non-recurrent group of ischemic patients, and there was no significant difference in hemorrhagic ones. Conclusion These results indicate that serum HGF may be used as a diagnostic marker for stroke, and serum HGF level is helpful in predicting the recurrence of ischemic stroke.