+44 330 818 7254Mathai A, Neelima R, Nair MD and Radhakrishnan VV
In this retrospective study, an indirect enzyme- linked - immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was standardized to measure the IgG antibody titers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens against cord factor antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and evaluated its application for the laboratory diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM). ELISA with cord factor antigen was specific and did not yield false positive result in any one of the 80 CSF specimens of patients with non-tuberculous neurological diseases. The assay showed an overall sensitivity of 86.66 % in 50 patients with a clinical diagnosis of TBM. Based on the results of this study, it is being recommended that cord factor antigen of M tuberculosis has potential application for the diagnosis particularly in patients in whom the bacteriological methods in CSFs did not confirm the diagnosis of TBM.
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