Abstract
Background
Acute encephalitis and encephalopathy are life-threatening diseases in children. However,
no laboratory examinations are performed for their early diagnosis and treatment.
Alpha 2-macroglobulin (α2M) is a blood glycoprotein that increases during the early
stages of inflammation. In the present study, we investigated the role of α2M levels
in acute encephalitis and encephalopathy.
Methods
We analyzed the cerebrospinal fluid and serum samples from patients with acute disseminated
encephalomyelitis, infection-related acute encephalopathy, febrile status epilepticus,
and febrile seizure simplex type. Samples were collected from the pediatric department
of hospitals throughout the Fukushima Prefecture between January 1, 1999, and May
31, 2012.
Results
α2M levels in the cerebrospinal fluid were 4.7 (3.8–8.4) μg/mL for acute disseminated
encephalomyelitis, 2.1 (1.1–2.3) μg/mL for infection-related acute encephalopathy,
1.1 (0.9–6.4) μg/mL for febrile status epilepticus, and 1.0 (0.8–1.1) μg/mL for febrile
seizure simplex type. α2M levels in patients with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis
were significantly higher than those in patients with infection-related acute encephalopathy
and febrile seizure simplex type (P = 0.019 and P = 0.002, respectively). The ratio of α2M level in the cerebrospinal fluid to that
in the serum in patients with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis was significantly
higher than the ratio in patients with febrile status epilepticus (P = 0.04). In patients with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, α2M levels in the
cerebrospinal fluid decreased with treatment.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that α2M levels in the cerebrospinal fluid reflect the neuroinflammatory
status of patients with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 10, 2019
Accepted:
April 26,
2019
Received:
July 30,
2018
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
