Correlation analysis of serum markers and acute cerebral infarction

Huang Haining; Guo Bingquan; Han Yuedong

doi:10.11850/j.issn.1009-122X.2025.03.008

Abstract：Objective To investigate the correlation between serum growth differentiation factor 15(GDF-15),galectin-9,and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL)and acute cerebral infarction.Methods Clinical data of 96 patients with acute cerebral infarction were analyzed retrospectively.According to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS)scores,patients were divided into severe group(NIHSS 21-42 points,n=25),moderate group(NIHSS 5-20 points,n=42),and mild group(NIHSS 1-4 points,n=29).Additionally,20 healthy individuals undergoing routine physical examinations during the same period were selected as the healthy control group.The serum NGAL,GDF-15 and galectin-9 of patients with acute cerebral infarction were compared between the three groups.Pearson correlation analysis and logistic regression model were used to analyze the correlation between serum markers and the severity of acute cerebral infarction,and the receiver operating curve(ROC)was used to analyze the predictive value of serum markers for acute cerebral infarction.Results The serum levels of GDF-15,NGAL and galectin-9 in the severe group were significantly higher than those in the moderate group and mild group(all P<0.05),all three markers in the three groups were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group(P<0.05).Pearson correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between serum GDF-15,NGAL,galectin-9 levels,and NIHSS scores(r=0.821,0.239,0.424,respectively;all P<0.05).Logistic regression analysis indicated that serum GDF-15,NGAL,and galectin-9 were all independent influencing factors for the severity of acute cerebral infarction(all P<0.05).ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the areas under the curve(AUC)for serum GDF-15,NGAL,and galectin-9 in diagnosing acute cerebral infarction were 0.727(95%CI:0.609-0.846),0.802(95%CI:0.702-0.901),and 0.869(95%CI:0.789-0.949),respectively.The combined diagnostic AUC was 0.939(95%CI:0.890-0.988),indicating higher diagnostic efficacy than that of any single marker.Conclusions Changes in serum levels of GDF-15,galectin-9,and NGAL are correlated with the severity of acute cerebral infarction,suggesting their potential as auxiliary markers for clinical evaluation of acute cerebral infarction.The combined use of these three markers exhibits higher diagnostic efficacy.