1. Cerebrospinal-fluid immunoglobulins in meningitis
- Author
-
M. J. O'Shea, H. R. Smith, and Barbara Bannister
- Subjects
Cryptococcus ,Immunoglobulins ,Neisseria meningitidis ,medicine.disease_cause ,Tuberculous meningitis ,Viral meningitis ,Medicine ,Humans ,Meningitis ,Enterovirus ,Suppuration ,biology ,business.industry ,Meningism ,Streptococcus ,General Medicine ,Mycobacterium tuberculosis ,biology.organism_classification ,medicine.disease ,Haemophilus influenzae ,Listeria monocytogenes ,Meningitis, Viral ,Immunoglobulin A ,Immunoglobulin M ,Immunoglobulin G ,Tuberculosis, Meningeal ,Immunology ,Acute Disease ,biology.protein ,medicine.symptom ,business - Abstract
Cerebrospinal-fluid (C.S.F.) immunoglobulins have been measured in 20 subjects with meningism but without detectable disease (normals), and in 68 patients, including 24 with purulent meningitis, 35 with viral meningitis, 6 with tuberculous meningitis, and 1 with cryptococcal meningitis. In normal subjects the mean values (±S.D.) were: IgM, nil; IgG, 3·1±1·2 mg. per 100 ml.; IgA, 0·43±0·55 mg. per 100 ml. The acute phase of purulent meningitis was characterised by a rise of IgM concentration to a mean of 4·3±5·8 mg. per 100 ml., while in acute viral meningitis the mean IgM concentration was 0·5±0·58 mg. per 100 ml. This difference might be used diagnostically. IgA and IgG levels are increased in the C.S.F. in all forms of acute meningitis, the rise being less marked in viral than in bacterial meningitis. A consistent fall in C.S.F. IgA concentration within 14 days of starting chemotherapy was noted in the 1 fatal case of tuberculous meningitis studied.
- Published
- 1973