B2M and ischemic stroke: A study showed that plasma β2M is associated with the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis5; moreover, plasma β2M is an informative risk marker for both coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in postmenopausal women on hormone therapy10,11, and high levels of β2M were associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke among women12.