Int J Intern Emerg Med | Volume 1, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access

Increased Risk for Ischemic Stroke of Non-Cardioembolic Origin in Italian Patients Carrying the Haptoglobin 2-2 Phenotype

Antonio Ponzetto^1*, Giulia Fiorini², Emanuela Morra¹ and Alberto Marchet³

¹Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Italy
²Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy
³Department of Stroke, Hospital Martini, Italy

^*Correspondance to: Antonio Ponzetto 

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Abstract

Free iron is toxic to cells and total body iron stores are linked to the risk of developing atherosclerosis and stroke. Haptoglobin, a physiological scavenger of hemoglobin, prevents free iron spillage into cells; however, the haptoglobin 2-2 phenotype is poorly capable of binding hemoglobin. We hypothesized that the risk of stroke may be influenced by haptoglobin phenotypes and we investigated this hypothesis on a series of patients with acute ischemic stroke of non-cardioembolic origin. Cases: A 160 patients were admitted to the stroke units of two Turin hospitals due to an episode of acute ischemic stroke of non-cardioembolic origin; there were two blood donor controls for each patient.
Methods: Immunoblotting was used to detect the haptoglobin phenotype.
Results: The haptoglobin 2-2 phenotype was significantly more frequent in the stroke patients compared to the controls (69% versus 45%, respectively; p =0.003) (Figure 1). Conclusions: The haptoglobin 2-2 phenotype appears to be a novel risk factor for ischemic stroke of non-cardioembolic origin in Italian patients.

Keywords:

Ischemic Stroke; Haptoglobin; Iron; Free iron; Total body iron

Citation:

Ponzetto A, Fiorini G, Morra E, Marchet A. Increased Risk for Ischemic Stroke of Non-Cardioembolic Origin in Italian Patients Carrying the Haptoglobin 2-2 Phenotype. Int J Intern Emerg Med. 2018;1(1):1005.