• E R Zanier, L Longhi, M Fiorini, L Cracco, A Bersano, T Zoerle, V Branca, S Monaco, and N Stocchetti.
• Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, University of Milano, Milano, Italy. ezanier@policlinico.mi.it
• Acta Neurochir. Suppl. 2008 Jan 1;102:339-43.

BackgroundHeart-type Fatty Acid-Binding Protein (H-FABP) and tau protein (tau) have been shown to be novel biomarkers associated with brain injury and, therefore, they could represent a useful diagnostic tool in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The goal of this study was to measure H-FABP and tau in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) following SAH to test the hypothesis that a relationship exists between SAH severity and H-FABP/tau values.MethodsTwenty-seven consecutive SAH patients admitted to our ICU were studied. Serial CSF samples were obtained in every patient starting on the day of SAH and daily for up to 2 weeks post-SAH. H-FABP/tau levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.ResultsPatients with severe SAH showed significantly higher peak levels of H-FABP and tau compared to mild-SAH patients (FABP: p = 0.02; tay: p = 0.002). In addition the peak concentrations of H-FABP and tau in CSF from SAH patients correlated significantly with Glasgow Coma Scale motor score (H-FABP: Spearman r = -0.52, p = 0.006; tau: Spearman r = -0.63, p = 0.0004). Based on outcome at discharge from the hospital, patients were categorized into survivors and non-survivors. Peak concentrations of both proteins in the non-survivors group were significantly higher than in the survivors.ConclusionsH-FABP and tau CSF levels are proportional to SAH severity and may be novel biomarkers that can be used to predict the severity of outcome following clinical SAH.

18 keywords...

hide…