Neurological diseases are a major health concern, and brain injury is a typical pathological process in various neurological disorders. Different biomarkers in the blood or the cerebrospinal fluid are associated with specific physiological and pathological processes. They are vital in identifying, diagnosing, and treating brain injuries. In this review, we described biomarkers for neuronal cell body injury (neuron-specific enolase, ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1, αII-spectrin), axonal injury (neurofilament proteins, tau), astrocyte injury (S100β, glial fibrillary acidic protein), demyelination (myelin basic protein), autoantibodies, and other emerging biomarkers (extracellular vesicles, microRNAs). We aimed to summarize the applications of these biomarkers and their related interests and limits in the diagnosis and prognosis for neurological diseases, including traumatic brain injury, status epilepticus, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and infection. In addition, a reasonable outlook for brain injury biomarkers as ideal detection tools for neurological diseases is presented.
Humans ; Biomarkers/cerebrospinal fluid* ; Nervous System Diseases/diagnosis* ; Brain Injuries/metabolism* ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase/cerebrospinal fluid* ; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein/blood* ; S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit/blood* ; tau Proteins/cerebrospinal fluid* ; Ubiquitin Thiolesterase/blood* ; Myelin Basic Protein/cerebrospinal fluid* ; Neurofilament Proteins/blood* ; MicroRNAs/blood* ; Brain Injuries, Traumatic/metabolism*

PURPOSE: Late diagnosis and treatment lead to high mortality and poor prognosis in tuberculous meningitis (TbM). A rapid and accurate diagnosis is necessary for a good prognosis. Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) has been investigated as a biochemical marker of nervous tissue damage. In the present study, the usefulness of NSE was evaluated, and a cut-off value for the differential diagnosis of TbM was proposed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patient charts were reviewed for levels of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) NSE, obtained from a diagnostic CSF study of samples in age- and gender-matched TbM (n=15), aseptic meningitis (n=28) and control (n=37) patients. RESULTS: CSF/serum NSE ratio was higher in the TbM group than those of the control and aseptic groups (p=0.001). In binary logistic regression, CSF white blood cell count and CSF/serum NSE ratio were significant factors for diagnosis of TbM. When the cut-off value of the CSF/serum NSE ratio was 1.21, the sensitivity was 86.7% and the specificity was 75.4%. CONCLUSION: The CSF/serum NSE ratio could be a useful parameter for the early diagnosis of TbM. In addition, the authors of the present study suggest a cut-off value of 1.21 for CSF/serum NSE ratio.
Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase/*blood/*cerebrospinal fluid ; Tuberculosis, Meningeal/blood/*diagnosis/metabolism

PURPOSE: Preterm very low birth weight infant have high rate of adverse neurodevelopmental sequale. Recently, there have been lots of reports that human umbilical cord blood transplantation ameliorates functional deficits in animal models as hypoxic ischemic injury. This pilot study was undertaken to determine the clinical efficacy and safety of autologous umbilical cord blood cell transplantation for preventing neurodevelopmental sequale in perterm VLBW. METHODS: Subjects were 26 preterm infants whose birth weight are less than 1,500 g and delivered under the intrauterine period 34 weeks. Autologous umbilical mononuclear cells (about 5.87x10(7)/kg) were injected to neonate via the umbilical vein on the postnatal 24-48 hour. The therapeutic efficacy was assessed by numbers of nucleated RBC, urinary uric acid/creatinine ratio, concentration of neuron specific enolase (NSE), interleukin 6 (IL6), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), and glial cell derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in serum and cerebrospinal fluid on day 1 and 7. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the numbers of the nucleated RBC, urinary uric acid/creatinine ratio, concentration of creatine kinase between the transplanted infants and controls. But the nucleated RBC is more likely to be rapidly discharged in the transplanted group. In the transplanted group, the concentrations of IL6, IL-1beta, and GDNF were no significant difference between day 1 and 7, although GDNF seemed to be elevated. Serum NSE concentration was significantly elevated after transplantation, but not in CSF. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that autologous umbilical cord blood transplantation in preterm very low birth weight infant is safe to apply clinical practice. Long term follow up study should be needed to evaluate the potential therapeutic effect of umbilical cord blood transplantation for neuroprotection.
Birth Weight ; Cell Transplantation ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Creatine Kinase ; Fetal Blood* ; Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Humans ; Infant* ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight* ; Interleukin-1beta ; Interleukin-6 ; Models, Animal ; Neuroglia ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; Pilot Projects* ; Transplants ; Umbilical Cord* ; Umbilical Veins

PURPOSE: Neuron-specific enolase(NSE) has been established as a reliable marker of neuronal damage in various neurologic disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether febrile seizure cause brain damage, based on the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of NSE. METHODS: Twenty-one pateints were enrolled. The maximal seizure duration was 90 mins. Blood and CSF samples for the measurement of NSE were obtained immediately after the seizure. NSE was measured using an immunoradiometric assay(IRMA). RESULTS: The CSF NSE level of the febrile seizure group was 11.7+/-2.04 ng/mL and that of the control group was 11.3+/-5.7 ng/mL. The serum NSE level of the febrile seizure group was higher than the serum NSE level of the control group, but there was no significant correlation. The serum NSE level of the febrile seizure group was 19.0+/-7.5 ng/mL and that of the control group was 12.8+/-5.1 ng/mL. The serum NSE level of the febrile seizure group was significantly higher than the serum NSE level of the control group. The CSF/serum ratio of NSE in the febrile seizure group was 0.7+/-0.3 and that of the control group was 1.0+/-0.5. The CSF/serum ratio of NSE in the febrile seizure group was lower than the CSF/serum ratio of NSE in the control group and there was a significant correlation. There was no significant correlation between seizure duration, serum NSE, CSF NSE, and the ratio of the CSF to the serum level of NSE. CONCLUSION: Children with febrile seizure are at relatively low risk for neuronal damage following seizures.
Brain ; Cerebrospinal Fluid* ; Child* ; Humans ; Nervous System Diseases ; Neurons ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase* ; Seizures ; Seizures, Febrile*

PURPOSE: Neuron-specific enolase(NSE) has been established as a reliable marker of neuronal damage in various neurologic disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether febrile seizure cause brain damage, based on the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of NSE. METHODS: Twenty-one pateints were enrolled. The maximal seizure duration was 90 mins. Blood and CSF samples for the measurement of NSE were obtained immediately after the seizure. NSE was measured using an immunoradiometric assay(IRMA). RESULTS: The CSF NSE level of the febrile seizure group was 11.7+/-2.04 ng/mL and that of the control group was 11.3+/-5.7 ng/mL. The serum NSE level of the febrile seizure group was higher than the serum NSE level of the control group, but there was no significant correlation. The serum NSE level of the febrile seizure group was 19.0+/-7.5 ng/mL and that of the control group was 12.8+/-5.1 ng/mL. The serum NSE level of the febrile seizure group was significantly higher than the serum NSE level of the control group. The CSF/serum ratio of NSE in the febrile seizure group was 0.7+/-0.3 and that of the control group was 1.0+/-0.5. The CSF/serum ratio of NSE in the febrile seizure group was lower than the CSF/serum ratio of NSE in the control group and there was a significant correlation. There was no significant correlation between seizure duration, serum NSE, CSF NSE, and the ratio of the CSF to the serum level of NSE. CONCLUSION: Children with febrile seizure are at relatively low risk for neuronal damage following seizures.
Brain ; Cerebrospinal Fluid* ; Child* ; Humans ; Nervous System Diseases ; Neurons ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase* ; Seizures ; Seizures, Febrile*