The 14-3-3 Brain Protein and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Hsich et al. (Sept. 26 issue)1 described a new premortem diagnostic test for Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and the related transmissible spongiform encephalopathies that consists of an immunoassay for the detection of the 14-3-3 brain protein in cerebrospinal fluid. They found that this procedure had a specificity of 99 percent and a sensitivity of 96 percent for the detection of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease among patients with dementia who had not had a stroke within one month before testing. The authors concluded that their immunoassay “can . . . be widely used to establish the diagnosis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy in patients.” Our own recent experience with a patient leaves us somewhat less confident about the sensitivity of this immunoassay.