Serum LRG1 as a novel biomarker for cardioembolic stroke.

• Accurate etiological classification of stroke is the basis of treatment choice. • Studies have shown that plasma combined with cardiac markers is valuable for the diagnosis of cardioembolic stroke. • It is the first study to demonstrate that serum LRG1 might be a promising indicator to predict cardioembolic stroke. • Serum LRG1 was associated with the severity and prognosis of cardioembolic stroke patients. • The combined predictive model, including LRG1, BNP, and LAD, significantly improved the prediction effect. In recent years, LRG1 was found to be closely related to atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and myocardial remodeling after myocardial infarction. While its role in cerebral infarction was still controversial. We aimed to explore the value of LRG1 to identify the cardioembolic stroke. 283 acute ischemic stroke(AIS) patients and 169 controls were enrolled. The AIS patients were divided into a CE(cardiogenic embolism) group and a non-CE group. Serum LRG1 levels were quantified by ELISA. The serum LRG1 levels were decreased in the AIS patients. CE group had higher serum LRG1 levels than the non-CE group. LRG1 was an independent risk factor for cardioembolic stroke. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.768 with a sensitivity of 72.5% and specificity of 69.5%, which was not second to BNP and LAD. The combined predictive model we designed, including LRG1, BNP, and LAD, greatly improved the prediction effect. A positive correlation was shown between LRG1 and stroke severity in the CE group. Those who experienced poor outcomes had higher serum LRG1 levels compared with good ones. Serum LRG1 was a promising indicator to predict cardioembolic stroke, as well as stroke severity and the 3-month prognosis of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]