Objective To investigate and analyze the association of serum levels of myelin basic protein (MBP) and S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100-B) with early neurological deterioration in patients with cerebral infarction after interventional therapy.

Methods A total of 258 patients with cerebral infarction, admitted to our hospital between July 2021 and July 2024, were enrolled. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was used to evaluate the neurological function status of patients. Patients who died or whose NIHSS score increased by 4 points or more after 24 hours of interventional therapy were included in the early neurological deterioration group, while the remaining patients were included in the non-deterioration group. The levels of MBP and S100-B in all patients were measured, and the relationship between changes in MBP and S100-B levels and the risk of neurological deterioration after interventional therapy was analyzed.

Results The levels of serum MBP and S100-B of patients with cerebral infarction were markedly higher in the early neurological deterioration group compared with those in the non-deterioration group (t = 9.062 95% CI: 2.348-3.663 and 7.708 95% CI: 0.221-0.375, P < 0.001). Spearman correlation analysis showed that the levels of serum MBP and S100-B in the deterioration group were positively correlated with NIHSS score increase (r = 0.323 95% CI: 0.095-0.542 and 0.292 95% CI: 0.066-0.488, P < 0.05). Stratified regression analysis showed that serum MBP (OR = 1.996, 95% CI: 1.607-2.478) and S100-B (OR = 1.005, 95% CI: 1.003-1.007) were risk factors affecting the early deterioration of neurological function in patients with cerebral infarction (P < 0.05), even after adjusting for confounding factors. In addition, admission NIHSS score (OR = 1.224, 95% CI: 1.142-1.310), hypertension (OR = 2.542, 95% CI: 1.139-5.669) and hyperlipidemia (OR = 2.618, 95% CI: 1.101-6.228) were also risk factors, and an interaction effect between the admission NIHSS score and MBP (OR = 1.081, 95% CI: 1.034-1.130) was observed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of serum MBP and S100-B in evaluating early neurological deterioration were 0.822 (95% CI: 0.764-0.879) and 0.788 (95% CI: 0.724-0.853), respectively.

Conclusion Elevated levels of serum MBP and S100-B in patients with cerebral infarction after interventional therapy are associated with an increased risk of early neurological deterioration and show potential value for assessing the risk of neurological deterioration.