The Association Between Hyperparathyroidism and Ischemic Stroke Subtypes

Background: Up to date, a substantial amount of research has remarked on the potential role of parathormone (PTH) in the development of subclinical and clinical vascular diseases. However, the association between the hyperparathyroidism and cerebrovascular disease has rather been underestimated in the literature. Herein, we aimed to investigate the association between serum PTH levels and ischemic stroke. Methods: Serum PTH levels were measured in all patients with ischemic stroke who were hospitalized in the Yozgat City Hospital between January 1, 2017 and January 1, 2019. Clinical and demographic findings were retrospectively evaluated via computer-based patient record system of Yozgat City Hospital (AKGUN). Results: Overall, 158 patients with ischemic stroke with a median age of 71.5 ± 11.5 were enrolled in this study. Parathyroid hormone was found to be high in 31 of the patients (19.6%). The stroke subtype of extracranial atherosclerosis was found to be more common in the group of patients with a high level of PTH (12%/3%; P = 0.008). Remarkably, logistic regression analyses also confirmed that high PTH level was a significant variable in the determination of the stroke subtype of extracranial atherosclerosis (P = 0.024). Conclusions: We have found a high rate of hyperparathyroidism in our group of patients with ischemic stroke. Remarkably, the elevation of PTH was found to be significantly associated with the ischemic stroke subtype of extracranial atherosclerosis. Clarification of these results in the future large-scale studies may provide crucial perspectives regarding our understanding of the pathophysiology of some subtypes of ischemic stroke and potentially lead to a large public health implication in this area. J Neurol Res. 2020;10(1):7-12 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jnr564