Stroke victims with busy immune responses may also see mental declines
A small study hints at a way to predict who might fare worse among survivors
How active a person’s immune system is soon after a stroke may be tied to later mental declines, a new study finds.
Researchers took blood samples from 24 stroke patients up to nine times over the course of a year. Twelve of the patients also completed a mental-skills test at four points during that time. Patients who had highly active immune cells on the second day after a stroke were more likely to see their test scores decline a year later, researchers report online March 12 in Brain.