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Beta‐2‐microglobulin in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with infections of the central nervous system
Author(s) -
Peterslund N. A.,
Black F. T.,
Geil J. P.,
Mogensen C. E.
Publication year - 1989
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/j.1600-0404.1989.tb03930.x
Subject(s) - beta 2 microglobulin , medicine , cerebrospinal fluid , encephalitis , aseptic meningitis , beta (programming language) , meningitis , gastroenterology , central nervous system , bacterial meningitis , central nervous system disease , immunology , surgery , virus , computer science , programming language
Beta‐2‐microglobulin was determined in 147 patients admitted to hospital because of suspicion of CNS disease. Patients with meningism were chosen as control group. The concentration of beta‐2‐microglobulin in the spinal fluid of control patients was correlated with age. Reference values for 0–40 years were 0.34–1.58 mg/l. Above 40 years of age the values were 0.46–3.14 mg/l. CSF beta‐2‐microglobulin levels of patients with meningism, aseptic and bacterial meningitis overlap too much to be relevant in distinguishing between these entities. Five patients with herpes simplex encephalitis had markedly elevated levels ranging from 4.4 to 9.0 mg/l. Ten patients with herpes zoster‐associated encephalitis had values from 1.1 to 6.1 mg/l. In the patient groups with CNS infections, the ratio of serum to spinal fluid beta‐2‐microglobulin was significantly more frequently < 1 as compared with the meningism group, indicating intrathecal production of the protein. Further studies on the clinical relevance of CSF beta‐2‐microglobulin in the diagnosis of encephalitis seem warranted.