Growth Factor Changes in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Children with Mental Retardation before and after Neural Precursor Cell Transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate growth factor changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of children with mental retardation (MR) before and after neural precursor cell transplantation (NPCT), in an attempt to provide experimental support for the clinical treatment of MR with NPCT. METHODS: The study comprised of 28 MR children who received twice NPCT in our hospital. CSF was collected at both times of NPCT to assess growth factors by ELISA. In addition, the content of insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in CSF was assayed to determine possible correlations between IGF-1 changes and the short-term therapeutic effect of NPCT. RESULTS: Of all the growth factors detected in CSF, only IGF-1 was increased significantly after NPCT (P<0.05). Fifteen of the twenty-eight MR children achieved short-term therapeutic efficacy, whereby the content of IGF-1 after NPCT was significantly higher than that before NPCT (P<0.05). There was no difference in IGF-1 content before and after NPCT in the remaining 13 MR children without shortterm therapeutic effect (P=0.657). There was a significant difference in IGF-change between the two groups of patients (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: IGF-1 may be one of the mechanisms contributing to the therapeutic effect of NPCT.

Expressions of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma of children with meningitis and encephalitis/encephalopathy.

Many reports in the field of childhood brain disorders have documented that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) affects central nervous system (CNS) functions. In this clinical study, BDNF levels were evaluated in association with pediatric CNS infections. BDNF levels in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 42 patients admitted during 5-year period, due to CNS infections, were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Control samples were collected from 108 patients with non-CNS infections (urinary tract infection, acute upper respiratory infection, acute gastroenteritis, etc.). Mean values of BDNF levels, at various ages, were determined and compared. BDNF levels were below the sensitivity of the ELISA in most CSF samples from the control group, but were significantly elevated in the patients with bacterial meningitis. The serum BDNF levels were elevated in all subgroups of patients with CNS infections, and the elevation was particularly notable in those with bacterial meningitis. BDNF expression in the CSF was correlated with CSF interleukin (IL)-6 levels as well as with blood platelet counts and neurological prognoses in those with bacterial meningitis. No correlation was found between BDNF levels and serum leukocyte numbers or C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. BDNF levels were found to be elevated in the serum and CSF of pediatric patients with CNS infections, particularly those with bacterial meningitis. Monitoring the changes in serum and CSF levels of BDNF may facilitate the diagnosis of acute meningitis and acute encephalopathy and allow the differential diagnosis of specific CNS infections.

Pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 6 caused by mutations in RARS2: definition of the clinical spectrum and molecular findings in five patients.

Recessive mutations in the mitochondrial arginyl-transfer RNA synthetase (RARS2) gene have been associated with early onset encephalopathy with signs of oxidative phosphorylation defects classified as pontocerebellar hypoplasia 6. We describe clinical, neuroimaging and molecular features on five patients from three unrelated families who displayed mutations in RARS2. All patients rapidly developed a neonatal or early-infantile epileptic encephalopathy with intractable seizures. The long-term follow-up revealed a virtual absence of psychomotor development, progressive microcephaly, and feeding difficulties. Mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymes in muscle and fibroblasts were normal in two. Blood and CSF lactate was abnormally elevated in all five patients at early stages while appearing only occasionally abnormal with the progression of the disease. Cerebellar vermis hypoplasia with normal aspect of the cerebral and cerebellar hemispheres appeared within the first months of life at brain MRI. In three patients follow-up neuroimaging revealed a progressive pontocerebellar and cerebral cortical atrophy. Molecular investigations of RARS2 disclosed the c.25A>G/p.I9V and the c.1586+3A>T in family A, the c.734G>A/p.R245Q and the c.1406G>A/p.R469H in family B, and the c.721T>A/p.W241R and c.35A>G/p.Q12R in family C. Functional complementation studies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed that mutation MSR1-R531H (equivalent to human p.R469H) abolished respiration whereas the MSR1-R306Q strain (corresponding to p.R245Q) displayed a reduced growth on non-fermentable YPG medium. Although mutations functionally disrupted yeast we found a relatively well preserved arginine aminoacylation of mitochondrial tRNA. Clinical and neuroimaging findings are important clues to raise suspicion and to reach diagnostic accuracy for RARS2 mutations considering that biochemical abnormalities may be absent in muscle biopsy.

Psychomotor retardation, spastic paraplegia, cerebellar ataxia and dyskinesia associated with low 5-methyltetrahydrofolate in cerebrospinal fluid: a novel neurometabolic condition responding to folinic acid substitution.

INTRODUCTION: Normal brain development and function depend on the active transport of folates across the blood-brain barrier. The folate receptor-1 (FR 1) protein is localized at the basolateral surface of the choroid plexus, which is characterized by a high binding affinity for circulating 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We report on the clinical and metabolic findings among five children with normal neurodevelopmental progress during the first four to six months followed by the acquisition of a neurological condition which includes marked irritability, decelerating head growth, psychomotor retardation, cerebellar ataxia, dyskinesias (choreoathetosis, ballism), pyramidal signs in the lower limbs and occasional seizures. After the age of six years the two oldest patients also manifested a central visual disorder. Known disorders have been ruled out by extensive investigations. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis included determination of biogenic monoamines, pterins and 5-MTHF. RESULTS: Despite normal folate levels in serum and red blood cells with normal homocysteine, analysis of CSF revealed a decline towards very low values for 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), which suggested disturbed transport of folates across the blood-brain barrier. Genetic analysis of the FR 1 gene revealed normal coding sequences. Oral treatment with doses of the stable compound folinic acid (0.5-1 mg/kg/day Leucovorin(R)) resulted in clinical amelioration and normalization of 5-MTHF values in CSF. CONCLUSION: Our findings identified a new condition manifesting after the age of 6 months which was accompanied by low 5-MTHF in cerebrospinal fluid and responded to oral supplements with folinic acid. However, the cause of disturbed folate transfer across the blood-brain barrier remains unknown.

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome: a study of CSF monoamine metabolism.

In 8 cases of typical neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS), homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA), noradrenaline (NA), and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol (MHPG) levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were assayed during both the active phase of NMS and after recovery. Compared with levels in normal control subjects the levels of HVA were significantly lower in patients with active NMS. This finding supports the central dopamine blockade theory of NMS pathophysiology. In addition, the levels of HVA were significantly decreased after recovery, suggesting that there may be a decreased dopamine metabolism in patients susceptible to NMS. The levels of 5-HIAA in patients with active NMS and after recovery were also significantly lower than those in normal control group, suggesting a relationship between the development of NMS and a disturbance of serotonin metabolism. The levels of NA in patients with active NMS were significantly higher than in normal subjects, and were within normal range after recovery. The levels of MHPG had a tendency to increase in patients with active NMS, compared with levels during recovery. These findings are a result of increased sympathetic nervous system activity in patients with active NMS; however, they are also observed in other disorders and may well reflect the physical stress caused by NMS.

Differential cellular increase in cerebrospinal fluid after encephalography in mentally retarded patients.

The behaviour of the CSF cells during gas encephalography (GEG) with O(2), N(2)O, and halothane is poorly known in cerebral developmental disorders. One hundred and fifty CSF samples taken during pneumoencephalography from 75 mentally retarded patients were examined cytologically by the millipore technique with Papanicolaou staining. The results were processed automatically. An approximately 25-fold increase in CSF cells (P<0·001), mainly meningeal, reticulohistiocytic, and monocytic types, was found to occur. The cortical gas filling rate had a positive correlation (P<0·001) with the increase of number of CSF cells. There were no significant differences between the cellular changes in different cerebral disorders. Thus, though the irritant effect of GEG gives a rich cell yield, diagnostic atypical cells in developmental disorders of the central nervous system probably rarely exfoliate into the lumbar CSF.