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CONCLUDING REMARKS
Author(s) -
JoHNSTONE
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/ane.1967.43.s28.123
Subject(s) - citation , computer science , information retrieval , library science
In the electrophoresis of cerebrospinal fluid the use of agar gel enables a better separation, especially of the proteins migrating in they-region, than other zone electrophoretic media used, e.g ., filter paper (for survey seeLuMSDEN 1965), starch gel (KuTT, McDowELL, CnAPMAN, PEnT& HunWITZ 1960), cellulose acetate (BRACKENRIDGE 1962, KAPLAN & JoHNSTONE 1966) and polyacrylamide (CuNNINGHAM 1964, MoNSEU & CuMINGS 1965). The occurrence of abnormal fractions in the y-region on agar gel electrophoresis of cerebrospinal fluid from 65 consecutive patients with multiple. sclerosis, 50 of whom are described in Chapter II and the mmaining 15 in Chapter III, proves the clinical value of this method. The occurrence of abnormal fractions even in those cases of multiple sclerosis where the y-globulin content was normal, as determined by densitometry of the agar gel plates, increases the value of this electrophoresis method still more. The occurrence of abnormal fractions in the y-region is not pathognomonic for multiple sclero is, having been observed al o in 19 out of 831 patients with various other neurological diseases, inter alia in n eurosyphilis and chronic myelopathy . On the other hand, such abnormal fractions occurred considerably less often than an increase in concentration of y-globulin , which could be demonstrated in 278 of the 831 patients with a wide variety of neurological diseases other than multiple sclerosis. For routine examination of cerebrospinal fluid in cases with suspected multiple sclerosis agar gel elec trophoresis is recommended; the p a tient 's serum should be examined at the same time as a reference. However, the procedure generally used for quantification of the protein fractions thus obtained is unreliable and should be supplemented or replaced by specific methods for evaluating proteins of special interes t. Immunochemical and immunological methods have proved reliable for quantitation of the immunoglobulins in cerebrospinal fluid (KABAT, GLUSMAN & KNAUB 1948, HARTLEY, MERRILL & CLAMAN 1966).