The diagnostic value of circulating miR-532-5p in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis and its predictive significance for the occurrence of cerebral ischaemic events

Abstract

Introduction: Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are widely identified as promising and novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of human diseases. This study investigated the clinical value of miR-532-5p for asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (CAS) patients and detected its predictive value for the occurrence of future cerebral ischaemic events (CIE). Material and methods: Serum expression of miR-532-5p was measured using qRT-PCR. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic value of miR-532-5p in asymptomatic CAS patients, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. The predictive value of miR-532-5p for the occurrence of CIE was evaluated by using Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox regression analysis. Results: Serum expression of miR-532-5p was identified to be significantly decreased in CAS patients compared with healthy controls. The ROC curve with an AUC of 0.903 indicated high diagnostic accuracy of serum miR-532-5p expression in asymptomatic CAS patients. As Kaplan-Meier analysis results suggested, more CIE events were observed in cases with low miR-532-5p expression. Low miR-532-5p and high degree of carotid stenosis were independent factors for the occurrence of CIE in asymptomatic CAS patients. Conclusions: The study suggests the potential clinical value of miR-532-5p for the early diagnosis of asymptomatic CAS patients. MiR-532-5p might have predictive value for the risk of future CIE in asymptomatic CAS patients.

The Diagnostic Value of Trace Metal Concentrations in Hair in Carotid Artery Disease

“…Therefore, the significance of hair sampling and analysis for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis is a remarkable direction of investigation [9]. Carotid artery stenosis characterized by the atherosclerotic narrowing of one or both carotid arteries is related to the occurrence of cerebral ischemic events [13]. Our aim was to analyze trace elements in hair samples obtained from patients with carotid artery stenosis and healthy controls.…”