Clinical Chemistry, Vol 29, 810-815, Copyright © 1983 by American Association for Clinical Chemistry

Utility of isoelectric focusing of cerebrospinal fluid and serum on agarose evaluated for neurological patients

H Link and V Kostulas

Agarose isoelectric focusing was used to demonstrate oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum from 998 consecutive neurological patients. Compared with agarose electrophoresis, agarose isoelectric focusing was slightly more sensitive, showing more (and more easily discernible) oligoclonal bands. Agarose isoelectric focusing, which has good reproducibility, revealed oligoclonal bands in CSF in 95% of 43 patients with multiple sclerosis, 44% of 39 with aseptic meningoencephalitis, and 14% of 906 with other neurological diseases. Interestingly, oligoclonal bands were found in CSF from 12% of 162 patients with acute cerebral infarction and 23% of 53 with polyneuropathy, and also in 29% of 17 with dementia, while only 4% of 206 patients with headache, vertigo, or psychoneurosis had this CSF abnormality. We recommend this procedure for the routine examination of paired CSF and serum specimens for the presence of oligoclonal bands.

The following articles in journals at HighWire Press have cited this article:

				V. K. Kostulas, H. Link, and A.-K. Lefvert Oligoclonal IgG Bands in Cerebrospinal Fluid: Principles for Demonstration and Interpretation Based on Findings in 1114 Neurological Patients Arch Neurol, October 1, 1987; 44(10): 1041 - 1044. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. M. Kouns, A. M. Marty, and R. W. Sharpe Oligoclonal Bands in Serum Protein Electrophoretograms of Individuals With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Antibodies JAMA, November 7, 1986; 256(17): 2343 - 2343. [Abstract] [PDF]

				V. K. Kostulas, A. Henriksson, and H. Link Monosymptomatic Sensory Symptoms and Cerebrospinal Fluid Immunoglobulin Levels in Relation to Multiple Sclerosis Arch Neurol, May 1, 1986; 43(5): 447 - 451. [Abstract] [PDF]