Eligible were patients admitted for thrombolysis in 14 Italian centers and were registered in the Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke-International Stroke Thrombolysis Register (SITS-ISTR), according to SITS-Monitoring Study criteria. 6 Study protocol was approved from each ethical committee, and all patients gave informed consent.Background and Purpose-Experimentally, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a detrimental role related to hemorrhagic transformation and severity of an ischemic brain lesion. Tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) enhances such effects. This study aimed to expand clinical evidence in this connection. Methods-We measured MMPs 1, 2, 3,7,8, 9, and Blood samples were taken before and 24 hours after tPA. Outcomes were defined as follows: (1) symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH), using the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke criteria; 7 (2) 3-month death; (3) modified Rankin disability score, dichotomized into good (modified Rankin scale, 0-2) or poor (modified Rankin scale, 3-6) outcome. As a main explanatory variable, we used single patient's relative pre-and post-thrombolysis variation (Δ median value) of both MMPs and TIMPs levels, calculated according to the formula: (24-hour post-tPA MMP or TIMP-pre-tPA MMP or TIMP)/pre-tPA MMP or TIMP. Differences in these Δ values were analyzed in relation to demographic and clinical features and across subgroups of patients with different outcomes. Methods details are in the online-only Data Supplement.
ResultsBetween October 2008 and June 2011, 534 patients were registered in the SITS-ISTR, of whom 327 (mean age, 68.9±12.1 years; 58% males) were investigated. The remaining 207 were not studied because of not fulfilling SITS-MOST criteria, not giving consent, blood samples not taken or not stored appropriately, outcomes not assessed, and other protocol violations. Except for onset-to-treatment time, the prevalence of major outcomes determinants did not differ significantly between the 2 groups (demographics and clinical characteristics of both groups are in Table I in the online-only Data Supplement).Absolute TIMPs or MMPs measures taken before thrombolysis and 24 hours after are reported in the Table II in the online-only Data Supplement.The Figure shows pre-and post-thrombolysis changes of each MMP and TIMP level measured in patients with and without SICH, in patients who died and in those who survived, and in patients scoring 3 to 6 or 0 to 2 on the 3-month modified Rankin scale. MMP9, TIMP4, and MMP2 level changes showed a tendency toward the association with SICH. Variations of MMP8, MMP9, and TIMP1 levels were significantly associated with death, whereas variations of MMP8, MMP9, and TIMP4 levels were associated with scoring 3 to 6 on the 3-month modified Rankin scale. Grading of hemorrhage severity (according to the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study II criteria) in the 27 patients with SICH is shown in Table III in the online-only Data Supplement. The association of MMP9 level variation with he...