Among cerebral
venous thrombosis (CVT) patients, those with venous
infarction have more severe clinical presentations and worse outcomes. Identifying
biomarkers associated with venous
infarction in CVT may help understand the pathogenesis and provide potentially useful therapeutic markers. Fifty-two CVT patients were prospectively recruited and divided into three groups: acute/subacute CVT with venous
infarction (ASVI,
n=30), without venous
infarction (ASOVI, n=13), and chronic CVT (n=9). Blood brain barrier (BBB) permeability-related
proteins, including
claudin-5,
occludin,
matrix metalloproteinase-9,
glial fibrillary acidic protein, and S100B, and
inflammation-related factor
high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (
hs-CRP), were tested in serum and/or cerebrospinal fluid upon admission. We compared these
biomarkers between the three groups and investigated their associations with venous
infarction and clinical symptom severity in acute/subacute CVT patients on admission using the NIH
Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Serum
hs-CRP was significantly higher in acute/subacute CVT patients than chronic CVT patients. For acute/subacute CVT patients, levels were significantly higher in the ASVI group than the ASOVI group for serum
claudin-5 (medians 2.80 vs. 2.50 mg/I, respectively, P = 0.039) and
hs-CRP (medians 17.25 vs. 2.27 mg/l, respectively, P = 0.003). Both these
biomarkers, analyzed as categorical or continuous variables, were also significantly associated with venous
infarction in acute/subacute CVT patients after logistic regression analysis. Additionally,
hs-CRP was positively correlated with the NIHSS (r = 0.710, P < 0.001) on admission in acute/subacute CVT patients. In CVT patients, venous
infarction was associated with BBB disruption and potentially
inflammation.
Hs-CRP might serve as a
biomarker reflecting the clinical severity of CVT in the acute/subacute stages.