Progress and potential roles blood biomarkers of ischemic stroke in clinical setting

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability which involving a complex pathophysiology with multiple mechanisms. Rapid treatment is necessary to terminate the disease progression, hence minimizing CNS damage and subsequent disability. Stroke diagnostic process composed of history taking, neurological examination and supplemented with neuroimaging. Imaging modalities such as CT-scan or MRI are essential in establishing a definitive diagnosis of ischemic stroke. However, the high cost and limited number made them inaccessible for those who have low or middle income which will delay the diagnosis and treatment. On the other hand, blood biomarker has potential in either diagnostic or prognostic aspect of ischaemic stroke management. It has a promising potential to aid diagnosis, determine the subtype of stroke, predicting the outcome or early neurological deterioration, and recurrence. It also could potentially help to assess the risk of hemorrhagic transformation, treatment selection, as well as to detect salvageable ischemic penumbra. Although it could not replace neuroimaging, blood-based biomarker assessment had lower cost and faster result. However, despite its promising potential, none of the blood biomarkers is currently used in clinical practice. Therefore, further studies are needed to develop biomarkers or panels of biomarkers with better sensitivity and specificity. This review provides a highlight and summary of blood biomarkers based on their potential application in a clinical setting.