The analysis of paired cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples with isolectric focusing (IEF) can yield different patterns which can be of aid in the differential diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Rarely, a single CSF-restricted IgG band, which is not included within these patterns, can be detected in association with inflammatory disorders, multiple sclerosis (MS) above all. However, the diagnostic meaning of this abnormality is still uncertain. The main aim of our multicenter study was to establish the frequency and disease associations of single CSF IgG bands. Differences in the CSF profiles between MS and other diseases, and the follow-up patterns were also evaluated. Medical records of patients who underwent CSF analysis, which included IEF, over a 11.5-year period were retrospectively scrutinized at the participating centers, which used similar IEF techniques. One hundred and fifty-one of 9422 CSF reports (1.6%) showed single CSF-restricted IgG bands. Of the 129 patients with a definite diagnosis, 58.2% had CNS inflammatory-demyelinating diseases (the most frequent being MS: 21.7%), 6.2% tumours, 5.4% inflammatory peripheral nervous system diseases and 30.2% miscellaneous diseases. At follow-up, 3 out of the 10 patients with a repeated CSF analysis had developed an oligoclonal band pattern. Our findings indicate that single CSF IgG bands tend to associate with diseases characterized by the involvement of intrathecal humoral immune responses, and strongly support the notion that this abnormality should be regularly reported, thus alerting clinicians of possible inflammatory disorders of the CNS.
Keywords: Cerebrospinal fluid; Isoelectric focusing; Multiple sclerosis; Single IgG band.