Cerebrospinal fluid ferritin in patients with cerebral infarction or bleeding.
By the use of a radioimmunoassay, ferritin was detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of apparently healthy individuals at a mean concentration of 5.1 arb U/l, i.e. a level about 5% of the mean normal serum-ferritin concentration. Fourteen patients with acute cerebrovascular stroke or transient ischemic attacks (one case) were followed by serial determinations of CSF-ferritin during 2 weeks or more from onset of symptoms. After cerebral stroke all patients exhibited an increase of CSF-ferritin with peak levels between 4 and 6 days from admission. Those three patients in whom computed tomography showed cerebral bleeding had the highest peak CSF-ferritin was 28 +/- 11 arb U/l in the patients who had cerebral infarction without signs of bleeding. In seven patients CSF-ferritin returned to the control range after 2 weeks. The extent of the rise of ferritin in CSF could not be explained by damaged blood-CSF barrier. We suggest that the increment of ferritin in CSF of patients with cerebrovascular lesions may reflect an inflammatory response within the brain possibly mediated by macrophages.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000418:Albumins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D004906:Erythrocyte Count; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D006801:Humans; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D000418:Albumins; D005293:Ferritins