A Study On The Change In Tau Protein Level In Cerebrospinal Fluid Of The Patients With Neurosyphilis And The Relationship Between Such Change And Mental Damage And Cerebrospinal Fluid IgG Index.

Object To explore the changes of Tau protein (Ï„protein) level and IgG index in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of the patients with neurosyphilis and evaluate the mental damage of such patients; and to analyze the relationship between the change of CSF Tau protein level and that of CSF IgG index and mental damage.Method 32 samples were included in this study, which were selected from the patients in STD outpatient department or in-patient department of neurology of Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University from Sep, 2007 to Feb, 2008. The samples were divided into three groups, 10 patients with neurosyphilis were included in Group 1, 11 patients with syphilis but without invasion of central nerve system (CNS) were included in Group 2, and 11 healthy people without the history of syphilis were included in Group 3. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used in the study to measure the CSF Tau protein level of the samples from the three groups, mini mental state examination (MMSE) was used to evaluate the mental damage of the samples, and CSF IgG index was measured and calculated. SPSS 14.0 was used as the statistical program to analysis the difference in CSF Tau protein level, CSF IgG index, and MMSE of the three groups by one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA), and the relationship between CSF Tau protein level and CSF IgG index and MMSE, and P<0. 05 was considered statistically significant.Results Significant difference were found in CSF Tau protein level, MMSE and CSF IgG index of Group 1 and those of the other two groups, respectively (P<0. 01), but no significant difference were found in CSF Tau protein level, MMSE or CSF IgG index of Group 2 and Group 3 (P>0. 05). Within Group 1, the correlation coefficient of CSF Tau protein level and MMSE was 0. 26, with P>0. 05; and the correlation coefficient of CSF Tau protein level and CSF IgG index was 0. 32, with P>0. 05.Conclusion The patients with neurosyphilis have an increase in CSF Tauprotein level and CSF IgG index with mental damage to some extent, comparedwith the patients with syphilis but without CNS invasion and healthypeople. But within the patients with neurosyphilis, no significantcorrelation was found between CSF Tau protein and CSF IgG index, or betweenCSF Tau protein and MMSE.