Cerebrospinal fluid ferritin in patients with meningitis and cerebral infarction or bleeding

The diagnostic value of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ferritin was assessed in 30 patients with meningeal reaction (viral meningitis 10; bacterial meningitis 6; meningism 14) and in 37 patients with cerebrovascular disease (cerebral infarction 29; transient ischaemic attacks 4; cerebral haemorrhage 4). The control group comprised 13 subjects with minor neurological disorders. CSF-ferritin levels were not significantly different in the various subgroups, most patients having values within the normal reference interval (2-7 micrograms/l). A clearly elevated CSF-ferritin was seen in one patient with bacterial meningitis and in one patient with intraventricular bleeding. In patients with meningeal reaction, CSF-ferritin was significantly correlated to CSF-protein. Patients with cerebrovascular disease displayed significant correlations between CSF-albumin and CSF-IgG and between CSF-ferritin, CSF-albumin and CSF-IgG. The present study indicates that measurement of CSF-ferritin is of no practical clinical relevance in the evaluation of patients with meningeal reaction and cerebrovascular disease.