Cerebrospinal fluid IgM index correlates with cranial MRI lesion load in patients with multiple sclerosis.

In multiple sclerosis intrathecal IgM synthesis correlates with an unfavourable disease course. Whether this reflects a pathogenic role of IgM, possibly in conjunction with complement, is a matter of debate. In a cross-sectional study we measured intrathecal synthesis of IgM and the complement component C3, and on cranial MRI lesion load and central brain atrophy in clinically active patients, 17 relapsing-remitting, 16 secondary progressive.

Rapid immunoassay for the determination of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in serum.

Background: This study was aimed to develop a sensitive and rapid assay for the determination of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in serum and to evaluate the clinical applicability in serum samples from patients with acute stroke.

Methods: The two-site chemiluminometric immunoassay, intended to use in a near-patient setting with a single incubation step (20 min), was used to measure serum samples from healthy blood donors and from patients with brain injury and correlated to serum S100B levels.

Results: The GFAP assay covered a concentration range up to 18 microg/L with an analytical sensitivity of 0.

Measurement of glial fibrillary acidic protein in blood: an analytical method.

Background: In the present study, a new assay for the measurement of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in human blood is described. The aim of the study was to present the characteristics of a new GFAP assay for blood analysis.

Methods: The method, a newly developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was validated using blood samples from healthy blood donors and from patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).