Tau protein concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

• Published in: Acta neurologica Scandinavica Vol. 111; no. 2; pp. 114 - 117
• Main Authors: Jiménez-Jiménez, F. J., Hernánz, A., Medina-Acebrón, S., De Bustos, F., Zurdo, J. M., Alonso, H., Puertas, I., Barcenilla, B., Sayed, Y., Cabrera-Valdivia, F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Munksgaard International Publishers 01-02-2005; Blackwell
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - cerebrospinal fluid; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers - cerebrospinal fluid; Case-Control Studies; cerebrospinal fluid; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Lumbar Vertebrae; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; motoneuron disease; Neurology; Severity of Illness Index; Spinal Puncture; tau protein; tau Proteins - cerebrospinal fluid; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the nervous system; Human; Nervous system diseases; Tau protein; Central nervous system disease; motoneuron disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Degenerative disease; Microtubule associated protein; Cerebrospinal fluid; Spinal cord disease
• ISSN: 0001-6314; 1600-0404
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2005.00370.x

Objective – To elucidate whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of the microtubule‐associated tau protein are related to the risk for sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS).
Patients/Methods – We measured tau concentrations in the CSF of 18 patients with SALS and 75 age‐ and sex‐matched controls, using a specific ELISA method.
Results – The mean CSF concentrations of tau protein did not differ significantly between SALS patient and control groups, were not influenced by the clinical form (spinal vs bulbar) of ALS, and were not correlated with age, age at onset, and duration of the disease.
Conclusions – CSF tau concentrations are not a biochemical marker of ALS.