title: Erythropoietin in cerebrospinal fluid: age-related reference values and relevance in neurological disease.
abstract: We aimed to establish age-related reference values for Erythropoietin (EPO) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and to evaluate concentrations in neurological diseases. CSF and serum EPO was measured in controls with tension-type headache (CTTH), in patients with ALS, dementia and depression using ELISA technique. Stability experiments showed CSF EPO to be stable for two and a half months and over two thaw/freeze cycles. A positive correlation of CSF EPO with age was found (P<0.01). We found a CSF/serum EPO concentration ratio of 0.126, pointing towards an intrathecal synthesis of EPO. The ALS group showed significantly lowered CSF EPO compared to age-matched CTTH (P<0.012), whereas the dementia and depression group showed no significant differences compared to CTTH.The establishment of age-related reference values in a large cohort of controls will improve the interpretation of future CSF EPO evaluations in neurological diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Widl
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brettschneider
authors.forename: Dagmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schattauer
authors.forename: Sigurd
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Süssmuth
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: Albert C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ludolph
authors.forename: Hayrettin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tumani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D003863:Depression / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D012016:Reference Values; D018781:Tension-Type Headache / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
chemical_list: D004921:Erythropoietin