An Electrophoretic Study of Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins in Newborn Infants

ABSTRACT

There are many diseases that have a characteristic protein electrophoretic patterns of serum and cerebrospinal fluid. The protein electrophoretic study of serum and cerebrospinal fluid has been used clinically for the diagnosis of such diseases. There are very few studies and references on this subject to available in Korea. Therefore authors studied the protein electrophoretic patterns of serum and cerebrospinal fluid in 20 cases of full term infants and 20 cases of premature infants by using the cellulose acetate method delivered in Hanyang University Hospital during the period of 6 months from March 1980 to August 1980. The results obtained were as follows 1. In electrophoretic pattern of cerebrospinalfluid protein, there was a prealbumin zone which was the rapidly migrating fraction of albumin and it was specific to cerebrospinal fluid. 2. Serum total proteins in full term infants were 5. 9+/-0. 7 gm/dl, and the percentage composition of proteins were albumin 55.2+/-6.5%, a1-globulin 3.2+/-0.7%, a2-globulin 7.2+/-1.4%, b-globulin 15.1?.1% and r-globulin 19.4+/-4. 8%. 3. Serum total proteins in premature infants were 5. 6+/-.1.0gm/dl, and the percentage cornposition of proteins were albumin 56.0+/-4.1%, a1 -globulin 3. 5+/-0.5%, a2-globulin 7.9+/-0.8%, b-globulin 16.7+/-5.3%, and r-globulin 15.9+/-4.8%. 4. CSF total proteins in full term infants were 104.0+/-21.3mg/dl, and the percentage composition of proteins were prealbumin 2.2+/-1.1%, albumin 67.4+/-6.3%, a1-globulin 3.9+/-1.1 a2 -globulin 4.9+/-2.8%, b-globulin 12.5+/-1.2%, and r-globulin 9.0+/-3.6%. 5. CSF total proteins in premature infants were 151.1+/-65.2mg/dl, and the percentage composition of proteins were prealbumin 2.2+/-0.5%, albumin 71.9+/-0.8%, a1-globulin 3.1+/-1.0%, a1-globulin 4.7+/-1.9%, B-globulin 9.4+/-2.4%, and r-globulin 8.5+/-2.1%. 6. CSF to serum proteins ratio and CSF to serum albumin ratio x 1,000 were 1/57 and 22.1+/-6.4 in full term infants, and 1/37 and 35.5+/-10.3 in premature infants, respectively.