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[Total proteins and electrophoretic protein fractions in the juvenile cerebrospinal fluid]
Insights
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein levels in children change significantly with age due to developing blood-brain barriers. These age-related changes in CSF protein fractions are crucial for understanding neurological conditions in pediatrics.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Biochemistry
- Pediatrics
Context:
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein profiles exhibit dynamic changes during childhood.
- The blood-CSF barrier and blood-brain barrier maturation influence protein concentrations.
- Understanding these age-dependent variations is essential for pediatric neurological assessment.
Purpose:
- To investigate the age-related changes in total protein (T.P.) and protein fractions in the CSF of children and young people.
- To compare CSF protein electrophoresis patterns in healthy children with those in children suffering from neurological diseases.
Summary:
- Total protein and specific protein fractions in CSF show distinct age-dependent variations in 933 children and young individuals.
- Newborns exhibit a transient transudative pattern due to immature barriers, which evolves over the first decade.
- CSF protein patterns in pediatric neurological diseases mirror adult patterns when age-matched.
Impact:
- Establishes normative CSF protein data across pediatric age ranges.
- Provides insights into the maturation of the blood-CSF and blood-brain barriers.
- Suggests that age-specific reference ranges are necessary for interpreting pediatric CSF electrophoresis results in neurological disorders.
Abstract:
In the CSF of 933 children and young people, total protein (T.P.) and the protein fractions (separated by electrophoresis were found to be definitely dependent on the age of the child, both in patients and normal controls. The highest values of T.P. are found in the first weeks of life. A steep decrease to the lowest values in the second to third year is followed by a slow increase over the next decade until the adult range is reached at the age of about 15 years. Because of the immature blood-CSF barrier and/or blood-brain barrier, the protein fractions of the newborn show a transsudative electrophoresis pattern with high albumin and gamma-globulin, but low prealbumin. Some weeks later, the pattern has completely changed: a transient elevation of beta 1-globulin, followed by elevation of the prealbumin and the alpha 2-fractions, is correlated with a decrease in the albumin, tau- and gamma-globulin fractions. At the age of 12--16 years, adult conditions are nearly reached. When children with various neurological diseases are compared with normal controls of identical age, the pattern of deviations is generally very similar to that observed in adults with the same diseases.