Original Article

Association of Chlamydia pneumoniae Serology and Ischemic Stroke

Authors: Zaki Noah Hasan, FICMS (Neurology)

Abstract

Background: Stroke is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Reports about the role of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in the development of atherosclerosis have been reported in many studies. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and ischemic stroke.


Methods: We evaluated 50 patients with ischemic stroke (32 males and 18 females) and 40 control subjects (22 males and 18 females). They were age- and sex-matched. All enrolled subjects underwent an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) serologic test for IgG and IgA antibodies for Chlamydia pneumoniae.


Results: Eighteen (36%) patients with ischemic stroke have positive IgA, in comparison with 6 (15%) among the control group (OR 3.18; CI 1.12-9.04; P = 0.03). This translates into the fact that there was a more than three-fold risk of developing ischemic stroke in those withChlamydia pneumoniae infection compared to those who without. The IgG seropositivity was increased in patients with ischemic stroke, but it did not reach statistical significance (OR = 2.32; CI = 0.97-5.58; P = 0.078).


Conclusions: Chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae infection demonstrated by positive IgA-type antibody can be considered a significant risk for ischemic stroke.

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