Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the world and the overall global burden of stroke has increased in the past several decades in developing countries. Despite substantial progress in reperfusion therapies, such as intravenous (IV) thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy, more than 50% of patients with stroke continue to have a disability at 3 months after treatment.

Biomarkers can also reflect the entire spectrum of disease from the earliest manifestations to the terminal stages. Careful assessment of the validity of biomarkers is required with respect to the stage of the disease. Causes of variability in the measurement of biomarkers range from the individual to the laboratory.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research and review articles that discuss the current classification, diagnosis, and treatment of stroke, focusing on the use of novel biomarkers (either solitary markers or multiple markers within a panel) that have been studied in a variety of clinical settings. This Special Issue expects to develop the following biomarkers: tissue injury biomarkers [e.g., S100 calcium binding protein B (S-100B), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), myelin basic protein (MBP), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and other new finding biomarkers], inflammatory biomarkers [e.g., C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tissue necross factor-alpha (TNF-α), vascular cell adhesion protein 1 (VCAM 1), inter-cellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM 1), N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antibodies and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and other new finding biomarkers], coagulation/thrombosis biomarkers (Fibrinogen, D-Dimer, vWF, and other new finding biomarkers), plasma DNA and RNA, myocardial metabolites (e.g., copeptin, B-type neurotrophic growth factor), adipose tissue metabolites[e.g., leptin, adiponectin, resistin, visfatin (from visceral fat), retinol-binding protein 4 (which induces insulin resistance), and vaspin (found in visceral fat and has insulin-sensitizing actions)], vitamin metabolites(e.g., vitamin D and vitamin A), oxidative stress biomarkers [e.g., malondialdehyde, F2-isoprostanes, and 8-Hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine] and other new finding biomarkers. We expect to see multilevel omics for the discovery of biomarkers and therapeutic targets for stroke, particularly those that use creative and cutting-edge methodologies; papers that expand our understanding of the impacts of biomarkers on stroke diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis; contributions that explore upstream approaches to preventing stroke. We encourage articles to include strong recommendations/reflections for the clinical application of biomarkers. Papers reporting multidisciplinary findings, such as those involved in preclinical/clinical validation, are especially welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Diagnostic and prognostic markers associated with stroke
• Biomarkers and drug resistance in stroke treatment
• Biomarkers and disease progression/development/risk
• Biomarker discovery in stroke
• Gut flora and biomarkers in stroke
• Markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, DNA and RNA for stoke
• Stroke biomarkers from basic to clinical