INTERFERON IN CEREBROSPINAL FLUID OF CHILDREN WITH CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DISORDERS

  • 1 January 1967
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 96  (1) , 21-+
Abstract
Interferon was detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 26 of 51 children with aseptic meningitis, 2 of 44 with bacterial meningitis, and 4 of 118 with miscellaneous conditions including encephalitis, convulsive disorders and leukemia with neurological involvement. The geometric mean titer of interferon in mumps meningitis was 7 to 8 times higher than that in entero-viral meningitis; however, levels of interferon were not related to the concentration of leukocytes in CSF from these patients. Interferon titers were relatively greater at the height of the febrile response in children with mumps meningitis or enteroviral meningitis. There was no association between the presence of interferon in the CSF and the isolation of mumps virus or an enterovirus from the same specimen. Patients frequently developed homologous antibody 1 to 3 days after signs of aseptic meningitis, obscuring the relationship of interferon production to clinical improvement.