Background and purpose: Elevated soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) was shown to be related to cardiovascular events, but the role of sCD40L in predicting recurrent stroke remains unclear.
Methods: Baseline sCD40L levels were measured in 3044 consecutive patients with acute minor stroke and transient ischemic attack, who had previously been enrolled in the Clopidogrel in High-Risk Patients With Acute Nondisabling Cerebrovascular Events (CHANCE) trial. Cox proportional-hazards model was used to assess the association of sCD40L with recurrent stroke.
Results: Patients in the top tertile of sCD40L levels had increased risk of recurrent stroke comparing with those in the bottom tertile, after adjusted for conventional confounding factors (hazard ratio, 1.49; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-2.00; P=0.008). The patients with elevated levels of both sCD40L and high-sensitive C-reactive protein also had increased risk of recurrent stroke (hazard ratio, 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.23-2.68; P=0.003).
Conclusions: Elevated sCD40L levels independently predict recurrent stroke in patients with minor stroke and transient ischemic attack.
Clinical trial registration: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00979589.
Keywords: CD40 ligand; ischemic attack, transient; prognosis; stroke.
© 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.