Aim:
The purpose of the study is to study changes in Lp-PLA2 in the blood of patients in the early recovery period of atherothrombotic stroke depending on the degree of stenosis and type of atherosclerotic plaque.

Material and methods:
A clinical and laboratory analysis of 130 patients in the early recovery period of atherothrombotic stroke was conducted. Among those examined were 69 men and 61 women aged (60.42±7.4) years. The control group consisted of 30 practically healthy persons (16 men and 14 women) without a history of severe somatic pathology, aged (58.7±6.3) years. Ultrasound scanning of the vessels of the neck was performed on a Siemens Acuson X 300 device. The amount of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) was determined by the immunoenzymatic method. STATISTICA 8 software was used for statistical processing.

Results:
In all examined patients, an increase in the content of Lp-PLA2 in the blood up to 260 (220.4; 295.7) ng/ml was found compared to individuals of the control group (p<0.05). Increased levels of Lp-PLA2 in stroke patients were associated with an increased degree of atherosclerotic stenosis and depended on the type of atherosclerotic plaque, reflecting its instability.

Conclusions:
Increased concentrations of Lp-PLA2 in patients with cerebral atherosclerosis can be considered as circulating biomarkers of atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability. Patients in the early recovery period of an ischemic stroke with a soft atherosclerotic plaque according to ultrasound data in combination with an increase in Lp-PLA2 indicators in the blood belong to the group of high risk of developing a repeated stroke.