Potential Biomarkers for Vasospasm and Clinical Outcome after Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and its sequela is a devastating disease process often leading to poor clinical outcome. The development of cerebral vasospasm (CV) and other delayed ischemic neurologic deficits (DINDs) determine the prognosis of patients after SAH. As a result, several studies have investigated the etiology of CV and DINDs in order to establish biological biomarkers that are clinically relevant for diagnostic and/ or monitoring purposes. Despite our knowledge of the disease progression and our understanding of the role of inflammation, endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cell dysfunction, brain injury, and genetics, no candidate biomarker is routinely being used in the clinic. We review the current literature pertaining to biomarkers of CV and their clinical utility in the management of SAH patients.