Stroke accounts for the second leading cause of death and a major cause of disability, with limited therapeutic strategy in both the acute and chronic phases. Blood-based biomarkers are intensively researched and widely recognized as useful tools to predict the prognoses of patients confronted with therapeutically limited diseases. We performed a systematic review of the circulating biomarkers in IS patients with prognostic value, with a focus on microRNAs and exosomes as predictive biomarkers of motor and cognitive recovery. We identified 63 studies, totalizing 72 circulating biomarkers with prognostic value in stroke recovery, as follows: 68 miRNAs and exosomal-miRNAs being identified as predictive for motor recovery after stroke, and seven biomarkers being predictive for cognitive recovery. Twelve meta-analyses were performed using effect sizes (random-effects and fixed-effects model). The most significant correlation findings obtained after pooling were with miR-21, miR-29b, miR-125b-5p, miR-126, and miR-335. We identified several miRNAs that were correlated with clinical outcomes of stroke severity and recovery after ischemic stroke, providing predictive information on motor and cognitive recovery. Based on the current state of research, we identified serum miR-9 and neutrophil miR-29b as the most promising biomarkers for in-depth follow-up studies, followed by serum miR-124 and plasma miR-125b.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its associated cardiometabolic phenotypes significantly contribute to the global burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD), especially in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and prediabetes. This study aimed to explore the association between cardiometabolic phenotypes—specifically, metabolically unhealthy normal weight (MUHNW) and metabolically unhealthy obese (MUHO)—and various cardiovascular risk indices including the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and its derivatives, the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), the cardiometabolic index (CMI), and the cardiac risk ratio (CRR). A total of 300 participants were evaluated (100 with prediabetes and 200 with T2DM). Anthropometric, biochemical, and lifestyle parameters were assessed and stratified across phenotypes. The results demonstrated that cardiovascular risk indices were significantly elevated in the MUHO compared to MUHNW phenotypes, with T2DM patients consistently exhibiting higher risk profiles than their prediabetic counterparts. TyG-derived indices showed strong correlations with BMI, waist–hip ratio (WHR), waist–height ratio (WHtR), and body fat percentage (%BF). The findings suggest that cardiometabolic phenotypes are more strongly associated with elevated cardiometabolic risk indices than body weight alone. These indices may enhance early risk stratification and intervention efforts. The study investigates the association of cardiometabolic phenotypes with surrogate cardiovascular risk indices, not direct CVD outcomes, However, the cross-sectional design and population homogeneity limit the generalizability of the results and preclude causal inference.