Cryptogenic cerebral infarction in a young patient with very high lipoprotein(a) serum level as the only risk factor.

Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a plasma lipoprotein that consists of a low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-like particle containing APO B-100 and apolipoprotein(a), linked by a disulphide bridge. There is evidence that higher serum level of Lp(a) is a predictor of various vascular diseases, such as myocardial infarction, coronary stenosis, re-occlusion of aortocoronary bypass vein grafts, peripheral atherosclerosis and cerebral infarction [1-4]. We describe a young man with a cryptogenic stroke with very high serum level of Lp(a) as the only vascular risk factor.