Investigators, NINDS Stroke Genetics Network (SiGN)

Objectives: Genetic and environmental influences contribute to differences in ischemic stroke phenotype across race-ethnic groups. The Causative Classification System (CSS) is an ischemic stroke phenotype characterization tool developed for etiological and causative classification. The CCS phenotypes across ethnic groups were analyzed and compared. Methods: The NINDS S troke G enetics N etwork (SiGN) is a large consortium aimed at identifying subtype-specific ischemic stroke susceptibility genes. Over 12,000 subjects at 22 sites across US and Europe were enrolled, with CSS locally adjudicated. Central CCS quality control was performed on all participants. Analysis was performed on 7,674 patients with complete workups. Findings: Significant ethnic differences were found in stroke etiology across ethnic groups (p <0.0001) with large artery atherosclerosis present most commonly in Asians, cardioembolic sources among Caucasian Europeans, and lacunar strokes among African Americans. African Americans were the youngest ethnic cohort analyzed (see Table 1). Conclusion: Significant differences in stroke subtypes are present across ethnic groups. Future genetic analyses may contribute to our understanding of these differences.