Introduction: Cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a potentially serious disorder. In search for underlying coagulopathy in CVST patients, we measured plasma levels of soluble thrombomodulin (sTM) and soluble endothelial protein C receptor (sEPCR) in patients with CVST as candidate biomarkers of thrombosis. Materials and Methods: The concentrations of sTM and sEPCR in 19 CVST patients without protein C and protein S deficiency were measured by ELISA and compared with 53 healthy controls. We also examined the association between those plasma markers and the risk of CVST. Results: Significant difference was identified in plasma sTM level between CVST patients and controls (0.95 ± 0.09 vs. 1.26 ± 0.12 ng/ml, respectively; p = 0.038). The plasma level of sEPCR was not different between groups, and no significant quantitative association was identified between the risk of CVST and the levels of sEPCR. The adjusted odds ratio for CVST associated with low (<10th percentile) levels of sTM was 2.3 (95% CI: 1.29-20.08; p = 0.012) after adjustment for confounding factors. Conclusion: Decreased plasma sTM concentration may be associated with an increased risk of CVST.

Keywords:
Cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis, Soluble thrombomodulin, Protein C, Soluble endothelial protein C receptor
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© 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel
2013
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