Sodium dodecylsulfate capillary gel electrophoretic measurement of the concentration ratios of albumin and α2-macroglobulin in cerebrospinal fluid and serum of patients with neurological disorders

Sodium dodecylsulfate capillary gel electrophoresis (SDS-CGE) was applied to measure the concentration ratios of albumin (Alb) and α2-macroglobulin (αMG) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and concurrent serum samples from patients with various neurological disorders. The values of the αMG index in individual patients were calculated on the basis of the peak area ratios of Alb and an αMG subunit on the CSF and serum electropherograms. The αMG index value thus obtained was most prominently raised in patients with inflammatory diseases of the brain and/or meninges, suggesting that the function of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) was disturbed under the pathological conditions in the central nervous system. The measurement of the concentration ratios of Alb and αMG in CSF and the concurrent serum samples by the present SDS-CGE system seems to be useful as an aid in the biochemical examination of the BBB function in patients with neurological disorders.