Exploring the association of serum hydrogen sulfide levels with ischemic stroke: A retrospective study in a Medical College in Eastern India

Introduction: Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an important gasotransmitter which has cytoprotective and has a role of antioxidant. H2S has a dual role: protective at low levels and deleterious at high levels. Dyslipidemia, an established stroke risk factor, may be linked to decreased H2S levels, leading to atherosclerosis. This study investigates whether serum H2S estimation can predict ischemic stroke or is associated with dyslipidemia in stroke patients.Materials and Methods: In this study, serum lipid profiles and serum H2S levels were assessed in 75 ischemic stroke patients aged 30–80 years and compared with an equal number of healthy individuals serving as controls at Tertiary Medical College, Jadavpur, Kolkata.Results: The serum H2S level is significantly decreased in patients suffering from ischemic stroke with dyslipidemia than in the dyslipidemic patients without stroke and normal healthy individuals. A strong positive relationship was observed between serum H2S levels and HDL-cholesterol (r = 0.69, p < 0.05), while serum H2S showed a significant inverse association with triglycerides (r = –0.57, p < 0.05) in ischemic stroke patients who also had dyslipidemia.Conclusion: In the present study, ischemic stroke with deranged lipid parameters was associated with decreased levels of serum H2S as compared to two control groups of non-stroke patients with and without dyslipidemia.