Serum prealbumin (transthyretin) predict good outcome in young patients with cerebral infarction

Low serum protein and albumin are considered to significantly associate with malnutrition, impaired functional status, poor outcome, and mortality. We hypothesized that serum prealbumin (transthyretin, PA) was a reliable and robust survival marker in young cerebral infarction patients and attempted to test the foregoing hypothesis. We analyzed the relationship between serum PA and stroke severity as determined by the modified Rankin Scale at discharge in 585 young cerebral infarction patients. By multivariate logistic regression modeling, we determined the influence of prealbumin on stroke severity, and the analyses were adjusted for the effects of potential confounders. Patients with a severe stroke had significantly more often prealbumin on admission in the lowest quintile (P = 0.031). Those cardiogenic cerebral infarction patients had significantly lower serum prealbumin concentrations and higher mRS scores. A logistic regression adjusted for confounders confirmed the following independent (odds ratio, 95% CI) good outcome predictors: uric acid (−0.002, 0.996–1.000) and prealbumin (−0.003, 0.995–1.000). Prealbumin is an independent predictor of the good clinical outcome of young cerebral infarction patients. The serum prealbumin may be a useful prognostic indicator for judging the prognosis of cerebral infarction.