Isoelectric focusing and immunofixation of cerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal IgG in neurological disorders.

Coded samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 112 patients with a variety of neurologic disorders were investigated for oligoclonal IgG bands by isoelectric focusing followed by immunofixation. All 16 patients with probable multiple sclerosis had oligoclonal bands. All four patients with paraneoplastic syndromes having multifocal nervous system involvement also had bands, whereas five patients with lupus, three having multifocal nervous system involvement, did not show any oligoclonal bands in the CSF. This technique is highly sensitive in detecting bands in MS, whereas other disorders that produce demyelination showed various levels of sensitivity.