Detection of 14-3-3 brain protein in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with paraneoplastic neurological disorders

A Saiz; F Graus; J Dalmau; A Pifarre; C Marin; E Tolosa

Detection of 14-3-3 brain protein in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with paraneoplastic neurological disorders

Ann Neurol. 1999 Nov;46(5):774-7.

Authors

A Saiz¹, F Graus, J Dalmau, A Pifarre, C Marin, E Tolosa

Affiliation

¹ Service of Neurology and Institut d'Investigacio Biomedica August Pi i Sunyer, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain.

PMID: 10553996

Abstract

The detection of 14-3-3 protein in cerebrospinal fluid by immunoblotting is useful for the diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). We found 14-3-3 protein in 10 of 80 (12.5%) patients with paraneoplastic neurological disorders (PNDs), whose presenting symptoms may mimic those of CJD. In 47 of 48 CJD patients, the 14-3-3 protein was detected as a single band, and it was detected as a double band in 1 patient. The double-band pattern was observed in 9 of the 10 14-3-3 proteinpositive patients with PNDs. The 14-3-3 protein assay may be positive in PND patients, but the immunoblotting pattern distinguishes most PND samples from those of CJD.