Cerebrospinal fluid concentration of neuron-specific enolase in diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

• Published in: The Lancet (British edition) Vol. 345; no. 8965; pp. 1609 - 1610
• Main Authors: Zerr, I., Bodemer, M., Räcker, S., Grosche, S., Poser, S., Weber, T., Kretzschmar, H.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 24.06.1995; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Aged; Biochemical markers; Biochemistry; Bovine spongiform encephalopathy; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - pathology; Cerebrospinal fluid; Clinical Enzyme Tests; Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome - cerebrospinal fluid; Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome - diagnosis; Diagnosis; Differential diagnosis; Female; Humans; Illnesses; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical diagnosis; Middle Aged; Nervous system; Neurological disorders; Patients; Phosphopyruvate hydratase; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase - blood; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase - cerebrospinal fluid; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
• ISSN: 0140-6736; 1474-547X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(95)90118-3

Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is among the biochemical markers in cerebrospinal fluid reported to be useful in the differential diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from other dementing illnesses. In a group of 58 patients with definite and probable Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, NSE concentrations (median 94·0, interquartile range 256 ng/mL) were significantly higher (p<0·001) than in 26 control patients (9·5, 15·5 ng/mL). At a cut-off of 35 ng/mL an optimum sensitivity of 80% with a specificity of 92% for the diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by NSE in cerebrospinal fluid was obtained.