Levels in stroke patients of CSF astroprotein, an astrocyte-specific cerebroprotein.

Astroprotein (an astrocyte-specific cerebroprotein) levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were determined by radioimmunoassay in 47 stroke patients. (Astroprotein is immunologically identical to glial fibrillary acidic protein.) Astroprotein levels in CSF increased markedly in acute cases of intracerebral hemorrhage and slightly to moderately in some acute cases of subarachnoid hemorrhage and cerebral infarction. In intracerebral hemorrhage, CSF astroprotein levels in the acute stage of the ictus reflected the size of the lesion and were used to estimate the clinical outcome. In subarachnoid hemorrhage and cerebral infarction, CSF astroprotein levels were related to the general neurological state. Evidence obtained indicated that fundamentally different destructive and/or degenerative processes in the brain may be involved in intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage and cerebral infarction and that determination of CSF astroprotein may have clinical significance in stroke patients.