Investigation of The Relationship Between IL-18 (-607 C/A), IL-18 (-137 G/C) Gene Variations and Ischemic Stroke Disease Development in Thrace Region of Turkey.

Background: Ischemic stroke is a clinical condition characterized by focal or global cerebral dysfunction resulting from inhibition of brain blood flow. Genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. As a result of IL-18 (-607 C/A, -137 G/C) gene variations, it is thought that binding of transcription factors may be affected and IL-18 mRNA expression can be modulated. Therefore, the purpose of our study is to investigate the roles of IL-18 (-607 C/A), IL-18 (-137 G/C) gene variations in the development of ischemic stroke in Trakya Region of Turkey.
Methods: Our study was performed with 90 ischemic stroke patients and 89 healthy controls. Genotype distributions of IL-18 (-607 C/A, -137 G/C) gene variations were determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.
Results: GC genotype and CA genotype of IL-18 (-137 G/C) and IL-18 (-607 C/A) gene variations were determined higher significantly in patent group as compared with other genotypes. However, the statistically significant difference was not determined between patients with ischemic stroke and healthy control groups in terms of IL-18 (-137 G/C) and IL-18 (-607 C/A) gene variations ( p > 0,05). Allele frequencies of IL-18 (-137 G/C) and IL-18 (-607 C/A) in patient and control groups were significantly different from the Hardy-Weinberg distribution ( p < .001 for all).
Conclusion: Although these gene variations' genotype distributions were not determined as a genetic risk factor for the development of ischemic stroke, allele frequencies of IL-18 (-137 G/C) and IL-18 (-607 C/A) in patient and control groups were significantly different from the Hardy-Weinberg distribution.