Tau protein concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
To elucidate whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of the microtubule-associated tau protein are related to the risk for sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS).


METHODS
We measured tau concentrations in the CSF of 18 patients with SALS and 75 age- and sex-matched controls, using a specific ELISA method.


RESULTS
The mean CSF concentrations of tau protein did not differ significantly between SALS patient and control groups, were not influenced by the clinical form (spinal vs bulbar) of ALS, and were not correlated with age, age at onset, and duration of the disease.


CONCLUSIONS
CSF tau concentrations are not a biochemical marker of ALS.
Jiménez-Jiménez
F J
FJ
Department of Neurology Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares-Madrid, Madrid, Spain. fjimenez.hupa@salud.madrid.org
Hernánz
A
A
Medina-Acebrón
S
S
de Bustos
F
F
Zurdo
J M
JM
Alonso
H
H
Puertas
I
I
Barcenilla
B
B
Sayed
Y
Y
Cabrera-Valdivia
F
F
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013129:Spinal Puncture; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
D015415:Biomarkers; D016875:tau Proteins