Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta and interleukin-6 in the cerebrospinal fluid of newborn with meningitis.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the usefulness of determining the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) for the early diagnosis and evaluation of the prognosis of neonatal meningitis.


METHODS
We studied 54 newborn that underwent lumbar puncture. Thirty patients had meningitis and 24 were the control group. CSF and sera were obtained at the moment of suspicion of meningitis and stored at -70 degrees C. Cytokines were performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method.


RESULTS
CSF cytokines were detected in all the newborn with meningitis. TNF-alpha was detected in the CSF in 63.3% of the neonates, IL-1beta in 73.3% and IL-6 in 96.6%. The CSF levels were significantly higher than serum in neonates with meningitis. There was no correlation between the CSF levels of cytokines and neurologic complications.


CONCLUSIONS
The detection of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6 in the CSF is of great value in order to achieve a early diagnosis of neonatal meningitis. Among the three cytokines analyzed, IL-6 was the best indicator of meningeal inflammation.
Krebs
Vera Lúcia Jornada
VL
Instituto da Criança, Hospital das Clínicas, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. verakrebs@uol.com.br
Okay
Thelma Suely
TS
Okay
Yassuhiko
Y
Vaz
Flávio Adolfo Costa
FA
D015415:Biomarkers / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D011379:Prognosis; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
D015415:Biomarkers; D007375:Interleukin-1; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha