Biomarkers and aspects in acute stroke

In the last decades there was a surge of research on serum haematological, biochemical and immunological biomarkers in stroke, which unfortunately has not yet translated into clinical practice. Serum biomarkers can theoretically be useful for the diagnosis, prognosis, and understanding of the pathophysiology and eventually for the selection of treatments in stroke care. Ideally a biomarker or a set of biomarkers can identify a stroke, in the prehospital setting, prior to neuroimaging, similarly to what is done for myocardial infarction. Several other molecules can be useful biomarkers of recanalization and reperfusion, of opening of collaterals, of the several steps of the ischemic cascade and of the early neuroinflammatory and neuroregenerative response. Inflammatory molecules might become both biomarkers and therapeutic targets for stroke management.