A radioassay for GM1 ganglioside concentration in cerebrospinal fluid

A radioassay for the rapid determination of GM1 ganglioside concentration in small volumes of CSF from individual patients is described. The assay utilizes the high-affinity interaction between cholera enterotoxin and GM1 ganglioside. The lower detection limit of GM1 ganglioside by this radioassay under the described incubation conditions is 2.5 ng/ml. The radioassay-determined lumbar CSF GM1 ganglioside concentrations in a small group of patients with diverse neurologic disorders are presented. The radioassay GM1 ganglioside concentration is in good agreement with the GM1 ganglioside concentration determined, in one patient, by the tlc-densitometry technique.