Inflammatory Marker Further Implicated in Stroke
 (NY, Reuters Health, 6/23/03)

Dr. Mary Cushman, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Vermont in Burlington, and team, divided 5,417 older adults into 4 groups based on their C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. The researchers used ultrasound to measure the thickness of the subjects' neck arteries and they tracked the participants for 10 years, during which time about 9% of the subjects had strokes that were caused by blocked blood vessels. The investigators found that, while the link between CRP levels and stroke is greatest in patients with plaque buildup, high CRP levels are associated with stroke, even in subjects who do not have narrowing of the arteries leading to the brain. The scientists speculate that C-reactive protein, which is associated with inflammation, may be an independent marker for plaques that are more likely to rupture and thereby cause strokes