Sheng X, et al. - Researchers conducted this retrospective study to examine the association between serum total bilirubin (TBil) level and early neurological deterioration (END) in patients with acute ischemic stroke of large artery atherosclerosis. The sample consisted of 291 patients with acute ischemic stroke. Within the first seven days, 63 (21.6%) of the patients were diagnosed with END. In the lowest quartile of TBil, the proportion of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and previous stroke/transient ischemic attack was significantly higher. The proportion of patients with elevated TBil levels in the END group was significantly lower than in the non-END group. In patients with acute cerebral infarction, TBil levels may be a useful biomarker for predicting END.