Elevated levels of tau-protein in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, fatal, neurodegenerative disease caused by a transmissible agent designated as proteinaceous infectious agent (prion). Searching for biochemical markers of CJD, we analysed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of 53 patients for tau-protein using an enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA). In a group of 21 patients with definite CJD seen in the German case control study for CJD, tau-protein concentrations in CSF were significantly higher than in two control-groups of patients with other diseases (median 13,153 pg/ml, range 1,533-27,648 pg/ml; P = 0.0001). One group comprised 19 patients who were seen in the same study and were diagnosed as having other dementing diseases (tau concentration: median 558 pg/ml, range 233-1,769 pg/ml). The second control group comprised 13 patients from our hospital with no dementing disease (tau concentration: median 296 pg/ml, range 109-640 pg/ml). We conclude that determination of tau protein levels in CSF is a useful marker for laboratory diagnosis of CJD.
Otto
M
M
Department of Neurology, Georg-August-University Goettingen, Germany. 100634.133@compuserve.com
Wiltfang
J
J
Tumani
H
H
Zerr
I
I
Lantsch
M
M
Kornhuber
J
J
Weber
T
T
Kretzschmar
H A
HA
Poser
S
S
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
D016875:tau Proteins