Pre- and postoperative changes in serum myelin basic protein immunoreactivity in neurosurgical patients.

In 44 patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures for intracranial tumors, subarachnoid hemorrhage, or spinal and peripheral nerve lesions, serum myelin basic protein (MBP) immunoreactivity was measured preoperatively and serially in the first 10 postoperative days. The double-antibody radioimmunoassay method was used, with a detection limit of 2.5 ng/ml in serum. Clinical evaluation was carried out at admission and on successive days during the period of neurosurgical management; outcome was assessed later. In the early postoperative phase, there was a fall in MBP immunoreactivity in all groups of patients. In the groups with intracranial tumor and subarachnoid hemorrhage, there was a subsequent rise in MBP immunoreactivity before the end of the 10-day period, which was not found in the group with spinal and peripheral nerve lesions.