Astroprotein (GFAP) Levels in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Stroke Patients

Abstract

Radioimmunoassay was employed to study the astroprotein (Ap)—an astrocyte-specific cerebroprotein which is immunologically identical to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)—levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of stroke patients in the acute or subacute stage. These levels tended to increase in the acute stage, especially in cases with intracerebral hemorrhage. The increases were related to the size of the lesion and the patients' general neurological state. The post-ictal increases were more rapid in cases with intracerebral hemorrhage than with cerebral infarction; both exhibited a correlation between the CSF-Ap levels in the acute stage and the prognosis.