{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T10:51:37Z","timestamp":1785408697930,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784160000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"National Research Foundation of Korea","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RS-2023-00265824"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2023-00265824"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["RS-2023-00265824"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2023-00265824"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/013aysd81","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003710","name":"Korea Health Industry Development Institute","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["HR21C0885"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HR21C0885"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003710","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["HR21C0885"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HR21C0885"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00fdzyk40","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is linked to post-stroke neuroplasticity, but its temporal dynamics and clinical relevance during early rehabilitation remain unclear. We investigated changes in serum mature BDNF, proBDNF, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) during the early subacute phase of stroke and their associations with functional improvement under standardized inpatient rehabilitation. Methods: In this prospective observational study at a tertiary inpatient rehabilitation unit, 100 stroke patients were enrolled and 84 were analyzed. Serum biomarkers and clinical assessments\u2014including the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Korean Mini-Mental State Examination, Fugl-Meyer Assessment, and Berg Balance Scale\u2014were obtained at baseline (T0) and after two weeks of rehabilitation (T1). Correlation and multivariable regression analyses examined relationships between biomarker changes and functional outcomes, adjusting for age, sex, time from onset, and BDNF genotype. Results: An increase in serum mature BDNF from T0 to T1 was significantly associated with NIHSS improvement (r = \u22120.273, p = 0.014), which persisted after multivariable adjustment (\u03b2 = \u22120.737, p = 0.009). Changes in proBDNF and MMP-9 showed no significant associations. Conclusions: Greater individual increases in serum mature BDNF during early subacute rehabilitation were independently associated with greater reductions in stroke severity, whereas the group-level mean did not increase over time. Serum mature BDNF may serve as a time-sensitive, objective biomarker of neurobiological recovery, potentially supporting individualized rehabilitation strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15145578","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T09:23:14Z","timestamp":1784193794000},"page":"5578","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Serum BDNF as an Objective Indicator of Rehabilitation Response in Patients with Subacute Stroke"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7834-9494","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Seyoung","family":"Shin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Seongnam 13496, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Heegoo","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Seongnam 13496, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dae Hyun","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Center for Prevention and Rehabilitation, Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4969-7895","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Won Hyuk","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Center for Prevention and Rehabilitation, Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Health Science and Technology, Department of Medical Device Management and Research, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology (SAIHST), Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"101138","article-title":"The burden of cardiovascular disease in Asia from 2025 to 2050: A forecast analysis for East Asia, South Asia, South-East Asia, Central Asia, and high-income Asia Pacific regions","volume":"49","author":"Goh","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet Reg. 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