Abstract: Objective To investigate the serum lipoprotein (Lp) (a) level in patients with acute ischemic stroke and the prediction for short-term functional outcome. Methods The levels of serum Lp(a) were measured in 210 patients with acute ischemic stroke (within 24 h after onset) and 100 healthy people matched the gender and age. The patients were assessed with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) as admission, and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) as discharge. Results The median of Lp(a) was 325 mg/L (IQR: 180~545) in patients,significantly more than 148 mg/L (IQR: 69~265) in the normal controls (P<0.001). Level of serum Lp(a) was an independent variable for functional outcome (OR=1.004, 95%CI: 1.001~1.007, P<0.001) and death (OR=1.006, 95%CI: 1.001~1.008, P<0.001) in patients. In the receiver operating characteristic curve, the area under curve was more in the combined model [Lp(a) and NIHSS] than the NIHSS alone.Conclusion Serum Lp(a) increased in the in patients with acute ischemic stroke, and may predict the short-term outcome independently.

Key words: stroke, acute, ischemia, lipoprotein(a), short-term, outcome