Progressive Increase in Cerebrospinal Fluid Measles Antibody Levels in Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis

Abstract

The extraordinary elevation of serum and cerebrospinal fluid measles antibody titers in specimens from patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) has been reported by several investigators.1 However, in spite of these serological findings, very little data are available on serial antibody determinations throughout the progression of the illness. Legg,2 in 1967, conducted serological tests with serum samples of 22 patients and found no significant rise in antibody titers with development of the disease, but he reported a sharp decrease in titer for one patient showing spontaneous remission. One year later, Connolly and co-workers,3 in a 10-month follow-up of three patients, reported a sixteen-fold increase in measles antibody in one of the individuals.