Immuno-fluorescent examination of cerebrospinal fluid cells in viral central nervous infections
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LECTURES HELD DURING THE MEETING OF THE NETHERLANDS SOCIETY OF NEUROLOGY, FEBR. 15TH. 1975. THE BABINSKI RESPONSE: STIMULUS AND EFFECTOR J. van 61JN, Department of Neurology, Academic Hospital 'Dijkzigt', Rotterdam (head: prof. dr. A. STAAL) The extensor response of the big toe is inseparable from the flexion reflex of the leg; a disin- hibited flexion reflex does hot merely interfere with observation of toe movements, but can be a pathological sign on its own. In patients showing equivocal planter reflexes, it would be of practical importance to know which muscle causes the big toe to go up: extensor hallucis longus (EHL) or -- brevis (EHB). Generally, the EHL was thought to be the effector of the Babinski response, but as a result of previous EMG-investigations with use of electrical stimuli attention was focused on the EHB. From an electromyographic study in 22 patients with a Babinski sign and 49 control sub- jects it emerges that a) the Babinski response is mediated by the EHL, and not by the EHB. b) electrical stimuli may fail to activate the EHL in these patients, and conversely may evoke EHL-reflexes in control subjects; c) in skin reflexes, electrical and mechanical stimuli are not freely interchangeable. (A full paper will shortly appear in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry) IMMUNO-FLUORESCENT EXAMINATION OF CEREBROSPINAL FLUID CELLS IN VIRAL CENTRAL NERVOUS INFECTIONS A. C. B. Peters, J. Versteeg, J. Lindeman and G. Th. A. M. Bots, (Leiden) Confirmations of the clinical diagnosis 'meningo-excephalitis' is based on the isolation of virus, demonstration of antibody rise or pathological evidence (postmortem or by biopsy). These procedures are time-consuming. Cerebrospinal fluid cells can be used for (rapid) detection of viral antigen by an indirect immuno-fluorescent technic. The bottle-neck in rapid diagnosis concerns specially the clinical non-specific cases. As we are able to make just a few sedimentslides using one specimen of C.S.F., some restric- tion in the choice of specific antisera is necessary. For this reason some additional informa- tion about the illness (clinical findings or laboratory results) might be useful. The method is demonstrated by 5 cases of viral central nervous infections (mumps, herpes virus hominis, echo, varicella zoster and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis), all controlled by one or more conventional procedures.
Transcript of Immuno-fluorescent examination of cerebrospinal fluid cells in viral central nervous infections
LECTURES HELD DURING THE MEETING OF THE NETHERLANDS SOCIETY OF NEUROLOGY, FEBR. 15TH. 1975.
THE BABINSKI RESPONSE: STIMULUS AND EFFECTOR J. van 61JN, Department of Neurology, Academic Hospital 'Dijkzigt', Rotterdam (head: prof. dr. A. STAAL)
The extensor response of the big toe is inseparable from the flexion reflex of the leg; a disin- hibited flexion reflex does hot merely interfere with observation of toe movements, but can be a pathological sign on its own.
In patients showing equivocal planter reflexes, it would be of practical importance to know which muscle causes the big toe to go up: extensor hallucis longus (EHL) or - - brevis (EHB). Generally, the EHL was thought to be the effector of the Babinski response, but as a result of previous EMG-investigations with use of electrical stimuli attention was focused on the EHB.
From an electromyographic study in 22 patients with a Babinski sign and 49 control sub- jects it emerges that a) the Babinski response is mediated by the EHL, and not by the EHB. b) electrical stimuli may fail to activate the EHL in these patients, and conversely may evoke EHL-reflexes in control subjects; c) in skin reflexes, electrical and mechanical stimuli are not freely interchangeable.
(A full paper will shortly appear in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry)
IMMUNO-FLUORESCENT EXAMINATION OF CEREBROSPINAL FLUID CELLS IN VIRAL CENTRAL NERVOUS INFECTIONS A. C. B. Peters, J. Versteeg, J. Lindeman and G. Th. A. M. Bots, (Leiden)
Confirmations of the clinical diagnosis 'meningo-excephalitis ' is based on the isolation of virus, demonstration of antibody rise or pathological evidence (postmortem or by biopsy). These procedures are time-consuming.
Cerebrospinal fluid cells can be used for (rapid) detection of viral antigen by an indirect immuno-fluorescent technic. The bottle-neck in rapid diagnosis concerns specially the clinical non-specific cases.
As we are able to make just a few sedimentslides using one specimen of C.S.F., some restric- tion in the choice of specific antisera is necessary. For this reason some additional informa- tion about the illness (clinical findings or laboratory results) might be useful.
The method is demonstrated by 5 cases of viral central nervous infections (mumps, herpes virus hominis, echo, varicella zoster and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis), all controlled by one or more conventional procedures.
