Chitotriosidase in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Background: Following an acute brain ischemia, local endothelia allow monocyte chemoattraction into the lesion site which contributes to brain damage through a group of neurotoxic factors. A relationship exists between the extent of brain damage and the plasma level of monocyte products, including chitotriosidase, though usually strictly related to preexisting infectious-inflammatory diseases.

Purpose: Since chitotriosidase activity is also elevated in pathogen-free conditions, we tested whether chitotriosidase upregulation might be specifically related to stroke and unrelated to clinically relevant infectious diseases.