[Blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier and the local immune response in the course of meningitis in childhood].

The condition of the blood-CSF barrier can be evaluated by the simultaneous quantitation of marker proteins in serum and cerebrospinal fluid. The concentration ratios of albumin and alpha 2-macroglobulin, plotted versus the hydrodynamic radii are used as permeability parameter. There are wide ranging barrier disturbances during the early stages of meningitis. In mumps meningitis only slight disturbances were found, meanwhile in bacterial meningitis the barrier permeability was strongly increased. In both disease groups one may detect secretory fractions of both immunglobulins G and A. In some cases of mumps meningitis a prolonged humoral immune reaction was found.