Serum and cerebrospinal fluid ferritin level in patients with meningoencephalitis

ABSTRACT

Thirty patients with meningoencephalitis and 10 patients with non infectious neurological diseases in addition to normal controls were the material of this study. All the selected cases were submitted to careful neurological assessment, routine cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] examination and ferritin determination in CSF and serum. The mean CSF ferritin concentration in normal subjects was 3.7 ug/L. [ranged from 1 - 7.5 ug/L]. Modest elevations ranging from 12 - 35 ug/L were observed in patients with strokes and presenile dementia. Also, modest elevations, ranging from 12 - 25 ug/L with a mean of 18.3 ug/L, were observed in patients with suspected viral meningoencephalitis. Marked elevations ranging from 35 - 300 ug/L with mean value of 115.4 ug/L, were observed in patients with bacterial meningoencephalitis. No correlation was observed between CSF ferritin and serum ferritin concentration whereas there is positive significant correlation between CSF protein and CSF ferritin concentration in patients with raised CSF protein. It can be concluded that CSF ferritin concentration is significantly increased in patients with meningoencephalitis with marked difference between viral and bacterial infections and hence its measurement is an early method for diagnosis and differentiation of patients presenting with infection of CSF or meningism