Studies investigating stroke and the -174G/C polymorphism report conflicting results, which may reflect the complex physiology of IL-6 and true differences between stroke subtypes and populations.
Following multivariate adjustment, carriers of the TNF-alpha (-308)A allele, the IL-1-RA 2* allele or the IL-6 (-174)C allele appeared to have an increased risk of stroke in association with a febrile episode prior to strokes.
The combination of the 2 minor alleles of C-reactive protein (CRP; 3'UTR 1846C/T) and interleukin-6 (IL-6; -174G/C) polymorphisms, occurring in 583 (35.7%) patients, was significantly associated with stroke (odds ratio, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.4 to 8.1; P=0.0023).