A Study on Hereditary Thrombophilia and Stroke in a Cohort from Sri Lanka.

BACKGROUND: Thrombophilia is an enhanced tendency of arterial or venous blood clot formation. The frequently assessed hereditary thrombophilia mutations associated with stroke are methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) c.677C>T, Factor V (F5) c.1691G>A (Leiden), and prothrombin (F2) c.20210G>A. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of the 3 mutations in ischemic stroke patients in Sri Lanka.

METHODS: A database of clinical details and genetic test results of stroke patients referred for thrombophilia screening from June 2006 to April 2014 was maintained prospectively and analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTS: A total of 400 ischemic stroke patients (319 arterial, 66 venous, and 15 location unreported) were screened for hereditary thrombophilia. Patients with the MTHFR c.677C>T, F5 c.1691G>A, and F2 c.20210G>A mutations were 17.3%, 3.3%, and .5% of the total cohort, respectively. F5 mutation was present in a statistically significant number of patients with venous thrombosis (P = .005) compared to patients with arterial thrombosis. The MTFHR and F2 mutations showed no such significant association. The mean age of patients with MTHFR, F5, and F2 mutations was 29 (±15), 34 (±11), and 38 (±5.6) years, respectively.

CONCLUSION: MTHFR c.677C>T is the predominant mutation and the only mutation that had patients with the homozygous mutant genotype. Venous thrombosis showed a significant association with the F5 c.1691G>A mutation.