Summary
Plasma endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and oxidised low-density lipoproteins
(oxLDL) are established biomarkers of atherosclerosis. We defined the time course
and magnitude of changes of plasma eNOS and oxLDL after Aggrenox or aspirin in post-stroke
patients. Baseline pretreatment eNOS levels were significantly diminished (110 ± 66pg
/ml vs. 374 ± 88 pg/ml, p=0.0001), while oxLDL was twice higher (58 ± 9 mg/l vs. 23
± 7 mg/l, p=0.004) in post-stroke survivors when compared to controls. Both Aggrenox
and aspirin similarly increased plasma eNOS activity. However, oxLDL levels were static
after aspirin, but inhibited late after Aggrenox. In the small randomised study, both
aspirin and Aggrenox produced fast and sustained recovery of plasma eNOS levels, while
only therapy with Aggrenox was associated with oxLDL inhibition late in the trial.
Keywords
Stroke - aspirin - Aggrenox - nitric oxide - oxidised LDL