Hyaluronan in human cerebrospinal fluid.

We studied the concentration of hyaluronan in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in various diseases and attempted to define its reference interval. A radioassay utilizing cartilage proteins with affinity for hyaluronan was used in determining the concentration of 200 lumbar and 27 ventricular CSF specimens and 11 brain cyst fluids. Molecular weight distributions were determined by gel chromatography and localization in brain tissue by histochemistry.