Serum soluble CD40 ligand levels after acute intracerebral hemorrhage

Background - Soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) is associated with inflammation. This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of sCD40L for clinical outcomes of acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients. Materials and methods - The serum sCD40L levels of 110 patients and 110 age-and gender-matched healthy controls were measured using sandwich immunoassays. The relationships between serum sCD40L levels and 1-week mortality, 6-month mortality, 6-month overall survival, 6-month unfavorable outcome (modified Rankin Scale score >2), and ICH severity including hematoma volume and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score were assessed using multivariate analysis. Results - Compared with healthy controls, ICH patients had higher serum sCD40L levels. Serum sCD40L levels were correlated positively with hematoma volumes and NIHSS scores using a multivariate linear regression. Multivariate analysis results indicated that sCD40L was identified an independent predictor of 1-week mortality, 6-month mortality, 6-month unfavorable outcome and 6-month overall survival. sCD40L also showed high predictive performances for 1-week mortality, 6-month mortality and 6-month unfavorable outcome based on receiver operating characteristic curve. Conclusions - Elevated serum sCD40L levels are independently associated with ICH severity and clinical outcomes. And sCD40L has potential to be a good prognostic biomarker of ICH.