Metabolites are small molecules found in our body’s cells. They come from the food we eat, chemical processes happening within our bodies and microbes. A new analysis of recent studies has found that the levels of 10 metabolites detected in the blood are associated with a person’s risk of stroke.
Metabolism is the chemical reactions that occur within cells that convert food into energy. That energy helps maintain cellular processes. Metabolites are products of a cell’s regulatory process. They include lipids, fatty acids, amino acids and carbohydrates. Levels of these small molecules can change in response to various factors like disease, genetics or the environment, and can be indicators of cell health, cardiovascular health and even overall health.
“With stroke being a leading cause of death and serious long-term disability worldwide, researchers are looking for new ways to identify high-risk patients, determine the causes of stroke and develop prevention strategies,” said study author Dina Vojinovic, Ph.D., of Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. “For our analysis, we examined a large series of metabolites to gain new insights into the metabolic changes that may happen leading up to a stroke.”
