title: Clinical and analytical evaluation of an enzyme immunoassay for myelin basic protein in cerebrospinal fluid.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  RIA of myelin basic protein (MBP) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is commonly used as a biochemical marker of demyelination in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Our aim was to develop a sufficiently sensitive ELISA for MBP and evaluate it clinically in patients with MS.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ELISA used anti-bovine MBP antibody coated on plates and biotinylated anti-MBP antibody. The bound antibody complex was quantified with streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase. MBP was determined in CSF from 84 MS patients and 55 patients with other neurological diseases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The respective within- and between-assay CVs were 4.7% and 7.2% at 200 ng/L, and 6. 3% and 8.8% at 2000 ng/L. The detection limit was 30 ng/L. Most of the MS patients with acute exacerbations had markedly increased MBP in the CSF. Longitudinal studies of six MS patients with recurrent exacerbation confirmed this observation. MBP concentrations from 78 MS patients, as tested with our ELISA, correlated well with those obtained by RIA (r = 0.9; P: <0.01), but the detection limit of the ELISA was much lower than that of the RIA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This convenient ELISA with higher sensitivity than the existing assays is a suitable routine assay that provides a diagnostic indicator of myelin breakdown in the central nervous system; moreover, it is an excellent indicator of MS disease activity.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Center, Utano National Hospital, Narutaki, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto 616-8255, Japan. mohta@kobepharma-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saida
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Itoh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D004676:Myelin Basic Protein