NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A test panel of four biomarkers of cerebral ischemia shows promise as an aid to early evaluation and management of patients with symptoms of acute cerebral ischemia, US investigators report.

Dr. Daniel T. Laskowitz at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and the Biomarker Rapid Assessment in Ischemic Injury (BRAIN) study group note in the January issue of Stroke that one barrier to early fibrinolytic therapy in these patients is the lack of a rapid, sensitive test to rule out other causes of acute neurological deficit.

In 949 patients who presented within 24 hours of symptom onset, the researchers tested a diagnostic tool that incorporated values of matrix metalloproteinase 9, D-dimer, B-type natriuretic peptide, and S100-beta, a marker of astrocyte activation.

Based on clinical, neuroimaging, and conventional laboratory information, 293 patients were diagnosed with ischemic stroke, 95 with intracranial hemorrhage, 197 with transient ischemic attack, and 361 with