Cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in bacterial and aseptic meningitis.
alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) has potent anti-inflammatory effects in several experimental models of inflammation. It inhibits both the actions and production of proinflammatory cytokines and neutrophil migration. We investigated whether alpha-MSH in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) increases during the acute stage in patients with bacterial and aseptic meningitis by measuring alpha-MSH in CSF via radioimmunoassay. The alpha-MSH concentrations in CSF from the children with bacterial meningitis who survived (n = 8), those with aseptic meningitis (n = 16), and the control subjects (n = 23) were all below the detection limit. However, CSF alpha-MSH was elevated in four of the five children with bacterial meningitis who had neurological sequelae. We speculate that elevated alpha-MSH levels in CSF during acute bacterial meningitis reflect negative feedback in response to severe inflammation associated with neurological sequelae induced by proinflammatory cytokines.


CONCLUSIONS
CSF alpha-MSH is elevated in children with severe bacterial meningitis who had neurological sequelae.
Ichiyama
T
T
Department of Pediatrics, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Japan. ichiyama@po.cc.yamaguchi-u.ac.jp
Nishikawa
M
M
Hayashi
T
T
Hayashi
S
S
Ryozawa
M
M
Furukawa
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016207:Cytokines; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008582:Meningitis, Aseptic / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012016:Reference Values; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D000521:alpha-MSH / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
D016207:Cytokines; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D000521:alpha-MSH