Prediction of early clinical severity and extent of neuronal damage in anterior-circulation infarction using the initial serum neuron-specific enolase level

Context: Prompt and precise measurement of neuronal damage in acute cerebral infarction is important to determine the prognosis of functional outcome. A feasible biochemical marker such as the neuron-specific enolase (NSE) level has been used to detect various diseases involving the central nervous system. Objective: To determine whether the initial serum NSE level is a useful marker for predicting the severity of clinical neurological deficits and the extent of neuronal damage in acute anterior-circulation infarction. Design: Case-control study with biochemical-clinicoradiological correlation. Setting: Tertiary care center. Participants: Eighty-one patients and 77 age- and sex-matched control subjects. Main Outcome Measures: Patients with anterior-circulation infarction underwent intravenous serum NSE sampling within 24 hours after symptom onset. Recent infarction was confirmed by T2-weighted and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the brain about 1 week after the onset of stroke. Volumetric analysis of infarction was also performed. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was measured on admission to the hospital and 1 week after symptom onset. Results: The patients' initial serum NSE levels were statistically significantly higher than the controls (P<.05). The initial serum NSE level highly correlated with the volume of infarction seen on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the brain (r=0.62, P<.001) and with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score obtained on hospital admission (r=0.42, P=.002) and on the seventh day after the onset of stroke (r=0.44, P<.001). Conclusion: The initial serum NSE level is a reliable predictor for the extent of neuronal damage and the severity of clinical neurological deficits in acute anterior-circulation infarction.