Oligoclonal IgG bands in CSF: A diagnostic tool
Summary The increase in the IgG/albumin ratio and the presence of oligoclonal bands in CSF from MS patients now serve as important tools in the diagnosis of MS. Although a small percentage of patients with other neurologic disorders also demonstrate oligoclonal bands, electrophoresis of CSF is the single most useful test for making a clinical diagnosis of MS. The oligoclonal band profiles in CSF of MS and SSPE appear to be identical; however, SSPE can easily be differentiated from MS by very high measles antibody titers in CSF and serum. Although IEF shows better identification of a number of distinct oligoclonal bands than can be seen in agarose gel electrophoresis, commercial PANAGEL electrophoresis appears to be a convenient system for the average hospital's clinical laboratory to use to demonstrate oligoclonal bands in CSF.