Beta-trace protein concentration in CSF in neurological disorders.

Abstract

Beta-trace protein constitutes about 7 % of the total cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein concentration. In the present study the concentration of beta-trace protein in CSF has been determined in 59 “healthy” controls and in 174 patients suffering from various neurological diseases. The CSF concentration of beta-trace protein was found to increase with age. No statistically significant difference of the CSF beta-trace protein concentration could be found between patients suffering from various neurological diseases and healthy controls, with the exception of patients with cerebrovascular disease, where increased concentrations were found around the 5th week after the onset of the stroke. This increase was especially marked in patients with the most severe signs of a cerebrovascular lesion. Slightly higher CSF beta-trace protein concentrations were found in patients investigated within one month after an exacerbation of multiple sclerosis when compared with multiple sclerosis patients later investigated. A parallelism between increased concentrations of CSF beta-trace protein and the severity of myelin degradation is postulated.