Basic Analysis of the Cerebrospinal Fluid: An Important Framework for Laboratory Diagnostics of the Impairment of the Central Nervous System

Laboratory analysis of basic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters is considered as essential for any CSF evaluation. It can provide rapidly very valuable information about the status of the central nervous system (CNS). Our retrospective study evaluated parameters of basic CSF analysis in cases of either infectious or non-infectious CNS involvement. Neutrophils are effector cells of innate immunity. Predominance of neutrophils was found in 98.2% of patients with purulent inflammation in CNS. Lymphocytes are cellular substrate of adaptive immunity. We found their predominance in 94.8% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), 66.7% of patients with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), 92.2% of patients with neuroborreliosis, 83.3% of patients with inflammatory response with oxidative burst of macrophages in CNS and 75.0% of patients with malignant infiltration of meninges (MIM). The simultaneous assessment of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism in CSF using the coefficient of energy balance (KEB) allows us to specify the type of inflammation in CNS. We found predominantly aerobic metabolism (KEB > 28.0) in 100.0% CSF of patients with normal CSF findings and in 92.8% CSF of patients with MS. Predominant faintly anaerobic metabolism (28.0 > KEB > 20.0) in CSF was found in 71.8% patients with TBE and in 64.7% patients with neuroborreliosis. Strong anaerobic metabolism (KEB < 10.0) was found in the CSF of 99.1% patients with purulent inflammation, 100.0% patients with inflammatory response with oxidative burst of macrophages and in 80.6% patients with MIM. Joint evaluation of basic CSF parameters provides sufficient information about the immune response in the CSF compartment for rapid and reliable diagnosis of CNS involvement

Neutrophils in Extravascular Body Fluids: Cytological-Energy Analysis Enables Rapid, Reliable and Inexpensive Detection of Purulent Inflammation and Tissue Damage

The simultaneous cytological and metabolic investigation of various extravascular body fluids (EBFs) provides clinically relevant information about the type and intensity of the immune response in particular organ systems. The oxidative burst of professional phagocytes with the concomitant production of reactive oxygen species consumes a large amount of oxygen and is the cause of switch to the development of anaerobic metabolism. We assessed the relationships between percentages of neutrophils, aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, and tissue damage via the determination of aspartate aminotransferase catalytic activities (AST) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), pleural effusions (PE), abdominal effusions (AE), and synovial fluids (SF). EBFs with 0.0&ndash;20.0% neutrophils: 83.0% aerobic and 1.3% strongly anaerobic cases with median of AST = 13.8 IU/L in CSF; 68.0% aerobic and 9.0% strongly anaerobic cases with median of AST = 20.4 IU/L in PE; 77.5% aerobic and 10.5% strongly anaerobic cases with median of AST = 18.0 IU/L in AE; 64.1% aerobic and 7.7% strongly anaerobic cases with median of AST = 13.8 IU/L in SF. EBFs with 80.0&ndash;100.0% neutrophils: 4.2% aerobic and 73.7% strongly anaerobic cases with median of AST = 19.2 IU/L in CSF; 7.4% aerobic and 77.3% strongly anaerobic cases with median of AST = 145.2 IU/L in PE; 11.8% aerobic and 73.7% strongly anaerobic cases with median of AST = 61.8 IU/L in AE; 25.5% aerobic and 38.2% strongly anaerobic cases with median of AST = 37.2 IU/L in SF. The significant presence of neutrophils, concomitant strong anaerobic metabolism, and elevated AST in various EBFs are reliable signs of damaging purulent inflammation