Fanning JP, et al. - In this nested case-control study, researchers investigated if serologic biomarkers could be effective screening tools for perioperative silent brain infarction (SBI) in 20 prospectively recruited patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation under general anesthesia. For this purpose, they carried out targeted profiling of serologic biomarkers. They detected the presence (cases) or absence (controls) of new SBI by means of clinical and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments performed at baseline and on day 3 post-procedure. They analyzed blood for S100 calcium-binding protein B, neuron specific enolase (NSE), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP 9) and glial fibrillary acidic protein. After SBI, higher levels of NSE and MMP 9 were detected. NSE and MMP 9 need to be further explored with regard to their value as screening tools.