title: [Investigation of B-cell activating factor in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with neuromyelitis optical].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the expression of B-cell activating factor (BAFF) in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with neuromyelitis optical (NMO).
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical data were collected from 44 patients with NMO and 38 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Thirty healthy controls and 15 controls with noninflammatory neurological diseases were also recruited. The concentration of BAFF in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean serum BAFF level was 250.2 ± 126.9 pg/ml in NMO patients, 249.6 ± 130.7 pg/ml in MS patients, and 222.9 ± 126.1 pg/ml in the control subjects, showing no significant difference among the 3 groups (P>0.05). The mean BAFF level in the CSF was significantly higher in NMO patients than in MS patients (525.8 ± 230.0 pg/ml vs 298.4 ± 141.9 pg/ml, P<0.05), and higher in MS patients than in the control subjects (141.4 ± 76.2 pg/ml, P<0.05). Both NMO and MS group showed a positive correlation between EDSS scores and CSF BAFF level. But in NMO patients, CSF BAFF level was not associated with AQP4-antibody titer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BAFF in the CSF may be a useful biomarker for a differential diagnosis of NMO from MS and has an important value in evaluating the disease severity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanlou Neurology, General Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100853, China.E-mail: yangfenyy@163.com.
authors.forename: Fen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Dehui
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Weiping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D053264:B-Cell Activating Factor / Q000097:blood* / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D009471:Neuromyelitis Optica / Q000097:blood* / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
chemical_list: D053264:B-Cell Activating Factor; D015415:Biomarkers