Brain and plasma proteins in spinal fluid as markers for brain damage and severity of stroke.

Abstract

Forty well-defined acute stroke patients were investigated for some cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) markers of cerebral damage. Myelin-basic protein (MBP), tau-fraction, albumin, IgG and transferrin were analyzed on two early occasions after onset of clinical symptoms. Patients with transitory ischaemic attack (TIA) had normal values for MBP both at first and second lumbar puncture. Patients with cerebral infarction and haemorrhage had mean MBP concentrations higher than normal at both lumbar punctures. In cerebral infarction there was a significant increase in MBP from the first to the second lumbar puncture. Patients with intracerebral haemorrhage showed the highest mean MBP values and MBP was markedly elevated already at the first lumbar puncture, suggesting different mechanisms of destruction of nervous tissue in cerebral infarction and bleeding. The amount of MBP was also significantly correlated to the visibility of the cerebral lesion at CT-scan and to the short-term outcome of the patients. The tau-fra...