Blood-CSF barrier integrity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

ABSTRACT

The integrity of the blood-CSF barrier plays a major role in inflammation, but also in shielding the central nervous system from external and systemic - potentially toxic - factors. Here we report results of measurements of the albumin quotient - which is thought to mirror the integrity of the blood/CSF barrier - in 1059 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients. The results were compared with groups of patients suffering from Alzheimer´s disease, facial palsy and tension headache. The albumin quotient, an accepted measure of the blood/CSF barrier integrity, was not significantly different from control populations. In addition, we found that the albumin quotient correlated with survival of the patients; this effect was mainly driven by male patients and influenced by age, BMI and diabetes mellitus. We conclude that the blood/CSF barrier is intact in this large cohort of ALS patients and that the albumin quotient correlates with survival. Whether this is important for the pathogenesis of the disease, requires mechanistic studies.