Abstract: ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between complement-3(C₃) and progression of early cerebral infarction.Methods168 consecutive patients with acute cerebral infarction within the first 24 hours from onset were recruited.Fasting venous blood sample was drawn on the morning of the second or the third day after admission.C₃ and other clinical chemistry variables were measured.The relationship of C₃ and progressing stroke(PS) was analyzed by Logistic regression.Results68 cases(40.48%) were considered as PS.Level of serum C₃ in PS patients was 1.28±0.20 g/L higher than in those with non-PS(1.16±0.25 g/L,P=(0.000)).A higher C₃ accompanied a higher tendency of prevalence of PS(P=0.001).Logistic regression analysis showed that C₃ was significantly correlated with PS(OR for each 1.0 g/L=7.27;95% CI=1.52～36.39; P=0.013).ConclusionElevated serum C₃ may play an important role in the prevalence of PS.

Key words: cerebral infarction, progressing stroke, complement-3(C₃)