Objective: To observe the levels of serum 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), neuronal PAS domain protein 4 (NPASDP-4), and S100β protein in patients diagnosed with cerebral infarction and analyze their correlation with cognitive dysfunction in these patients.
Methods: The study included a cohort of 158 patients suffering from cerebral infarction who were admitted to the Liwan District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between January 2021 and December 2022. After stabilizing vital signs, all patients underwent the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to assess their cognitive function. Based on the assessment results, they were divided into two groups: the cognitive dysfunction group (121 cases) and the normal cognitive function group (37 cases). The baseline characteristics and serum levels of 3-NT, neuronal PAS domain protein 4 (NPASDP-4), and S100β protein were compared in the patient cohorts. Furthermore, the correlation between these three indicators and cognitive function in patients suffering from cerebral infarction was analyzed. A logistic regression model was constructed to analyze how serum levels of 3-NT, NPASDP-4, and S100β protein levels affected cognitive function in patients suffering from cerebral infarction. ROC curve analysis was conducted to assess the predictive value of serum 3-NT, NPASDP-4, and S100β protein levels for cognitive function in patients suffering from cerebral infarction.
Results: Among the 158 patients with cerebral infarction, 121 (76.58%) had cognitive dysfunction, while 37 (23.42%) had normal cognitive function. The levels of 3-NT, NPASDP-4, and S100β protein were found to be significantly higher in the cognitive dysfunction group compared to the normal cognitive function group (t = 5.788, 7.774, 6.460; P = .000, .000, .000). The point-biserial correlation analysis results showed a positive correlation between serum levels of 3-NT, NPASDP-4, and S100β protein and the occurrence of cognitive dysfunction in patients suffering from cerebral infarction (r=0.420, 0.529, 0.424; P = .000, .000, .000). The logistic regression model demonstrated that serum levels of 3-NT(95%CI: 1.299-2.603), NPASDP-4(95%CI: 1.487-3.386), and S100β protein(95%CI: 1.153-8.746) were risk factors for cognitive dysfunction in patients suffering from cerebral infarction (OR=1.839, 2.244, 1.429; P = .001, .000, .240). ROC curve analysis demonstrated that serum 3-NT, NPASDP-4, and S100β protein levels exhibited a certain predictive value for cognitive function in patients with cerebral infarction (AUC = 0.789, 0.881, 0.820).
Conclusion: Serum levels of 3-NT, NPASDP-4, and S100β protein are closely related to the cognitive function of patients with cerebral infarction, and abnormal changes in these levels may exacerbate cognitive dysfunction in these patients.