[Leukotrienes B4 and C4 in cerebrospinal of patients with multiple sclerosis]

Leukotrienes B4 and C4 have been assayed in CSF of 24 patients with the attacks or slowing-progressing course of multiple sclerosis, and in 23 patients with other noninflammatory diseases. Leukotrienes concentrations have been assayed with RIA technique with the use of commercially available kits manufactured by Amersham. Leukotrienes B4 and C4 levels in CSF of patients with multiple sclerosis have been 91.8 +/- 5.6, and 88.6 +/- 7.5 pg, and have been significantly higher than those in other neurological disorders (p < 0.01). Mean LTB4 and LTC4 levels have been significantly lower in patients with atherosclerotic dementia (69, 12.2 and 63, 02.9 pg/ml) or in patients with headache (72.7 +/- 2.8 and 64.5 +/- 8.2 pg/ml). Higher LTB4 and LTC4 levels in patients with multiple sclerosis is probably due to both increased penetration through blood-brain barrier and their synthesis in blood-brain barrier, and cerebral nervous tissue. Further investigations are necessary to show whether LTB4 and LTC4 levels may indicate a stage of inflammatory process activity and enable to draw any conclusions on efficacy of anti-inflammatory therapy.