Study finds 10 metabolites associated with stroke risk

Metabolites are small molecules found in the cells of our body. They come from the food we eat, from chemical processes that take place in our body, and from microbes. A new analysis of recent studies has found that the levels of 10 metabolites detected in the blood are associated with a person’s risk of stroke. The research is published in the December 2, 2020 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Metabolism is the chemical reactions that take place in cells that convert food into energy. This energy helps to maintain cellular processes. Metabolites are the products of a cell’s regulatory process. They include lipids, fatty acids, amino acids, and carbohydrates. The levels of these small molecules can change in response to various factors such as disease, genetics or the environment, and can be indicators of cellular health, cardiovascular health, and even overall health.

“With stroke being one of the leading causes of death and severe long-term disability worldwide, researchers are looking for new ways to identify high-risk patients, determine the causes of stroke and develop prevention strategies, ”said study author Dina Vojinovic, Ph.D., from Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands. “For our analysis, we looked at a large set of metabolites to gain new information about metabolic changes that can occur up to a stroke.”

For the meta-analysis, the researchers pooled data from seven studies and identified 38,797 people who had not had a stroke at the start of the study. Participants provided a medical history, underwent medical examinations and donated blood samples. The blood samples were analyzed with nuclear magnetic resonance technology, which uses magnetic fields, to examine the levels of 147 metabolites. The researchers then determined how many people had a stroke between two years later and up to 15 years later, according to the study.

A total of 1,791 people had a stroke during the follow-up period. The researchers found that 10 metabolites were associated with the risk of stroke.

The strongest association was found with the amino acid histidine. Histidine comes from protein sources like meat, eggs, dairy products, and grains. It is an essential amino acid that helps sustain life. Researchers found that histidine was associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke, a stroke caused by a blockage in a blood vessel, such as a blood clot.

“Histidine can be converted to histamine, which has been shown to have a strong effect on the dilation of blood vessels,” Vojinovic said. “It also works as a neurotransmitter in the brain and has been shown in some studies to reduce blood pressure and inflammation, so this finding is not surprising.”

With every one standard deviation increase in histidine levels, people had a 10% lower risk of stroke. These were not explained by other factors that could influence the risk of stroke, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and body mass index.

The researchers also found that the high-density lipoprotein cholesterols, HDL and HDL2, considered good cholesterols, were associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke. People can improve their good cholesterol levels by exercising more, losing weight, and replacing bad fats with healthier fats from foods like fish, nuts, olives, and avocados.

Low density lipoproteins, or bad cholesterols, as well as triglycerides were associated with a higher risk of stroke.

A metabolite called pyruvate, which is produced when cells break down glucose, increases the risk of stroke. With every one standard deviation increase in pyruvate levels, people had a 13% increased risk of ischemic stroke.

“Pyruvate is essential for providing energy to a cell and has been shown in previous studies to decrease inflammation, while in contrast, it also increases a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease,” so more research is needed, ”Vojinovic said. “Our analysis provides new insights into how stroke risk may be affected at the molecular level. It also raises new questions. Future studies are needed to further research into the biological mechanisms underlying these. associations between metabolites and stroke risk. “

One limitation of the study was the small number of participants who had a hemorrhagic stroke, reducing the ability of researchers to detect associations for this type of stroke.

---

---