M. Blennow et al., GLIAL FIBRILLARY ACIDIC PROTEIN IN THE CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID - A POSSIBLE INDICATOR OF PROGNOSIS IN FULL-TERM ASPHYXIATED NEWBORN-INFANTS, Pediatric research, 37(3), 1995, pp. 260-264
Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is the structural protein of in
termediate filaments in astroglia. GFAP has extensively been used as a
marker of gliosis in neuropathology. It also appears in excessive amo
unts in the cerebrospinal fluid in various acute brain disorders. Hypo
xic-ischemic encephalopathy after perinatal asphyxia is a condition in
which levels of GFAP could be expected to be elevated if brain cell d
amage occurs. We examined levels of GFAP by a sensitive ELISA in the c
erebrospinal fluid of full-term infants between 12 and 48 h after birt
h. Cerebrospinal fluid-GFAP increased 5-fold in infants after perinata
l asphyxia compared with a reference group (675 versus 137 ng/L, p < 0
.001). The levels of GFAP also increased gradually in accordance with
the severity of the neurologic symptoms ranked as degree of hypoxic-is
chemic encephalopathy. We conclude that the cerebrospinal fluid levels
of GFAP might be an important adjunct in the neonatal assessment of i
nfants subject to perinatal asphyxia, and together with other neuronal
or glial proteins, it might also help in defining temporal relationsh
ips asphyxia.