[Diagnostic significance of immunologic study of cerebrospinal fluid in neuroinfections]

An increase in the antibody titre in the blood serum, previously considered sufficient for determining the etiology of neuroinfection can no longer be regarded as a satisfactory index in the light of the contemporary level of our knowledge. The literature and the authors' own data show the importance of a simultaneous examination of antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid and the blood serum in some neuroinfections. For example, the determination in the cerebrospinal fluid of antibodies to herpes simplex virus in herpetic encephalitis is considered sufficient (in the presence of the characteristic clinical picture) to make the diagnosis of this severe disease. The examination of antibodies to herpes simplex virus in the cerebrospinal fluid of 35 patients with a suspected herpetic encephalitis revealed their presence in 34% of those studied. The data obtained suggest that immunoassay of the cerebrospinal fluid and blood sera should be used on a broader scale in patients with acute and chronic neuroinfections. The method plays an the early diagnosis of these diseases and early administration of the appropriate treatment.