Fatty acid binding protein as a serum marker for the early diagnosis of stroke: a pilot study.

No biological marker is currently available for the routine diagnosis of stroke. The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether heart-fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) could be used as a valid diagnostic biomarker for stroke, as compared with neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S100B proteins. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis separation of cerebrospinal fluid proteins and mass spectrometry techniques, FABP was found elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid of deceased patients, used as a model of massive brain damage. Because H-FABP, a FABP form present in many organs, is also localized in the brain, an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay was developed to detect H-FABP in stroke versus control plasma samples. However, H-FABP being also a marker of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), troponin-I and creatine kinase-MB levels were assayed at the same time in order to exclude any concomitant heart damage. NSE and S100B levels were assayed simultaneously. These assays were assessed in serial plasma samples from 22 control patients with no AMI or stroke, 20 patients with AMI but no stroke, and 22 patients with an acute stroke but no AMI. Twenty-two out of the 22 control patients and 15 out of the 22 stroke patients were correctly classified, figures much better than those obtained with NSE or S100B, in the same study's population. H-FABP appears to be a valid serum biomarker for the early diagnosis of stroke. Further studies on large cohorts of patients are warranted.