Correlation between Vitamin D, homocysteine and brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in patients with ischemic stroke

U.F. Yurekli, Z. Tunc

Department of Biochemistry, Department of Neurology, S.B.Ü. Sanliurfa Mehmet Akif Inan Education and Research Hospital, Sanliurfa, Turkey. ugurrllab@gmail.com

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• Biochemistry
• Neurology

OBJECTIVE: Ischemic stroke risk increase is in relation to low serum vitamin D levels in some studies; however, the uncertainty about its relationship to serum homocysteine and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration remains. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between vitamin D, homocysteine and BDNF levels in patients with acute stroke.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 126 patients admitted to the emergency department with stroke and 64 healthy controls were included in this study. All patients received 150,000 U of vitamin D as part of a stroke treatment protocol during hospitalization. The patients were divided into two groups: the blood samples of the patients in the group-I (n=54) were taken at the time of admission to the hospital, and the samples of the patients in the group-II (n=72) were taken 24 hours after admission. Serum vitamin D, homocysteine, BDNF and routine biochemical analyses were performed from these samples.

RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, stroke patients had lower serum vitamin D (p<0.0001) and BDNF (p<0.0001) levels, and higher homocysteine levels (p<0.0001). It was found that the homocysteine level was constant and the BDNF level increased (p=0.01) 24 hours after the 150,000 U vitamin D supplementation. Furthermore, there was a negative significant correlation between vitamin D levels, homocysteine and BDNF in patients who had experienced a stroke.

CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D supplementation was used as a therapeutic agent in patients with acute ischemic stroke that affects homocysteine and BDNF levels. In this study, it was demonstrated for the first time that there is a correlation between serum vitamin D levels and BDNF levels in patients who have experienced a stroke.

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