Objectives: Recent studies have shown that Apelin 13 may have a neuroprotective property. Therefore it can be used as a biomarker for multiple sclerosis. Our purpose to assess serum apelin-13 levels in adult patients with multiple sclerosis and healthy controls. Patients and Methods: Subjects consisted of 42 relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis patients and 41 controls. Demographic characteristics including age, gender, duration of disease and Expanded Disability Symptom Scale (EDSS) were recorded. In serum samples obtained from the patients and controls, serum apelin-13 levels were measured with Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method. Results: Serum apelin-13 levels were significantly higher in the patients groups than the healthy controls (P = 0.003). Pearson analysis did not show any significant correlation between EDSS, disease duration and apelin-13 levels. Conclusion: The results of our study have been showed statistically significant higher levels of serum apelin-13 in multiple sclerosis patients compared to controls. Further studies with larger patients populations and healthy controls should be done to clarify to use serum apelin levels as a biomarker for multiple sclerosis.

Objectives: Our study aimed to determine the relationship between serum periostin levels, and the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) with ischemic stroke subtypes, clinical stroke scales, and acute prognosis in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Materials and Methods: Forty-two ischemic stroke patients and 39 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were included in our study. Demographic characteristics including age and gender were recorded. Blood serum periostin and NLR values were evaluated in the first 24 hours after admission. Serum periostin levels were compared with healthy controls of similar age and sex. Lesion localization was determined by cranial CT or diffusion MRI of the patients. Stroke scales were recorded on days 1 and 7 of hospitalization in the study group. Results: The mean serum periostin levels were higher than in the control group, but no statistically significant difference was found. There was no correlation between serum periostin levels and prognosis of stroke. First admission NLRs were statistically higher than in the control group. The first admission NLRs were positively correlated with the first admission National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score and the day 7 modified Rankin score. Conclusion: Our study is the first study to evaluate both NLR and serum periostin levels in all types of acute ischemic stroke. While our study did not show that first admission serum periostin levels can be used as a biomarker in ischemic stroke, it did indicate that the first admission NLR can be used for acute prognosis of ischemic stroke.

Nesfatin-1 and caspase-cleaved cytokeratin-18: Promising biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease?