Protein Z in ischemic stroke and its etiologic subtypes.

Background And Purpose: Protein Z is a vitamin K-dependent plasma protein whose significance in arterial thrombosis remains uncertain. The objectives of this study were to determine the association between protein Z, ischemic stroke, and etiologic subtypes of ischemic stroke.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study of 173 hospital cases of first-ever ischemic stroke and 186 randomly selected community controls.