The electrophoretic demonstration of unique oligoclonal immunoglobulins in cerebrospinal fluid as a diagnostic test for multiple sclerosis.

Polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis was performed on unconcentrated cerebrospinal fluid and serum from 132 neurological patients and from 33 patients without neurological disease. The presence of unique, discrete immunoglobulin bands in the gamma-globulin (cathodal) region of the cerebrospinal fluid gel was assessed as a diagnostic test for multiple sclerosis. The procedure exhibited a specificity for multiple sclerosis of 94% and a sensitivity of 72%, and is easier to perform than most of the other published procedures used to demonstrate oligoclonal immunoglobulins in cerebrospinal fluid. It is recommended for use in the clinical chemistry laboratory as a valuable adjunct to the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.