Comparison of miR-124-3p and miR-16 for early diagnosis of hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke

Background: The present study aimed to investigate and compare plasma concentrations of miR-124-3p and miR-16 as diagnostic markers in acute stroke. Methods: miR-124-3p and miR-16 concentrations in 93 stroke patients were analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The primary outcome was the differentiation of hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke. Results: Of 93 patients, 74 (79.6%) were diagnosed as ischemic stroke (IS) and 19 (20.4%) were diagnosed as hemorrhagic stroke (HS). Median plasma 124-3p concentrations taken within 24h of symptom onset were higher in HS patients than that in IS patients (3.8×10⁵ vs 2.0×10⁵ copies/ml plasma, p=0.0109), while median miR-16 concentration in IS patients were higher than that in HS patients (1.6×10⁹ vs 1.3×10⁹ copies/ml plasma, p=0.0399). The odds ratio (OR) for discriminating HS and IS with miR-124-3p and miR-16 was 5.37 and 9.75 respectively. Conclusion: Both miR-124-3p and miR-16 are diagnostic markers to discriminate HS and IS.