Investigation of the relation between ischemic cerebrovascular disease and Chlamydia pneumoniae infections

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate whether there is a relation between Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and ischemic cerebrovascular diseases. METHODS: This study was done on 100 individuals, 50 of whom were at the ages between 40-74 with transient ischemic attack (TIA) or acute ischemic stroke and 50 of whom were healthy controls at the same age and gender distributions. All cases on the patient and control group had a complete neurological examination, chest radiographs, routine biochemical and hematological tests, doppler USG investigations of carotid and vertebral arteries were done. Hypertension, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus and another metabolic disease, oral anticoagulant use were investigated in the patient and control groups. Those who have diabetes, heart valve disease, cardiac rhytm disorders and history of use of oral anticoagulants were excluded. C. Pneumoniae antibodies were investigated by microimmunoflourescent (MIF) method in the serum of patients and controls. Antibody determination was made separately for IgA, IgM and IgG. RESULTS: IgA-type antibodies were detected 62% on the patient group where as 32% on the control group. IgA-type antibodies against C. Pneumoniae were found more frequently in patients than in control subjects (p