H. Tumani et al., beta-trace protein in cerebrospinal fluid: A blood-CSF barrier-related evaluation in neurological diseases, ANN NEUROL, 44(6), 1998, pp. 882-889
beta-Trace protein concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum fr
om 113 patients with various neurological diseases and 65 controls were det
ermined with a sensitive and specific immunonephelometric assay. In adult c
ontrol patients, beta-trace concentrations were 14.6 +/- 4.6 mg/L in CSF an
d 0.46 +/- 0.13 mg/L in serum, that is, 32-fold higher in CSF. beta-trace l
evels in CSF correlated with age as well as with the albumin CSF/serum rati
o (Q(Alb)), which is considered a measure for blood-CSF barrier function. T
he relationship between CSF beta-trace levels and elevated Q(Alb) values wa
s studied in various neurological diseases with CSF protein increase. In sp
inal canal stenosis, CSF beta-trace (mean = 29.5 +/- 10.5 mg/L) correlated
positively with increasing Q(Alb) Values. In bacterial meningitis, CSF beta
-trace (mean 8.7 +/- 3.9 mg/L) remained invariant to changes of Q(Alb) valu
es. In Guillain-Barre syndrome, CSF beta-trace (mean = 14.4 +/- 6.8 mg/L) w
as below the Q(Alb)-dependent reference range. In multiple sclerosis and vi
ral meningoencephalitis, beta-trace levels were within the reference range.
beta-Trace concentration in CSF can be used in conjunction with Q(Alb) to
distinguish between different neurological pathologies associated with CSF
protein increase.