Plasma chromogranin A levels are associated with acute ischemic stroke with anterior circulation large vessel occlusion.

Background And Aims: To investigate the relationship between chromogranin A (CgA) levels and acute ischemic stroke (AIS), especially anterior circulation large vessel occlusion (LVO).

Methods And Results: 587 subjects were included in this study, including 205 AIS patients with anterior circulation LVO and 205 nonocclusive patients, as well as 177 healthy controls. On admission, plasma CgA levels were measured and neurological deficits were assessed by the NIH Stroke Scale. Outcomes were assessed by the modified Rankin Scale at 3 months. The predictive properties of CgA were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Binary logistic analysis assessed the association of CgA levels and AIS or anterior circulation LVO. AIS patients had lower CgA levels than health controls (p < 0.001). Anterior circulation LVO patients had lower CgA levels than nonocclusive patients (p < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve of plasma CgA levels in predicting anterior circulation LVO from AIS was 0.744 and the optimal cutoff value was 15.49 ng/mL with a Youden value of 0.332. Logistic analysis showed that CgA ≤15.49 ng/mL remained an independent risk factor for anterior circulation LVO after adjusting for related factors (OR = 6.519, 95% CI: 3.790-11.214, p < 0.001). CgA was an independent protective factor for mild stroke and good prognosis (p = 0.009, p = 0.005); however, the association disappeared after adjusting for occlusion (p = 0.768, p = 0.335).

Conclusion: CgA levels were lower in AIS patients, especially in anterior circulation LVO patients. Lower CgA levels are potential biomarker for anterior circulation LVO, and they may indicate good prognosis at 3 months in AIS.