[Treponema pallidium IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TP-IgM-ELISA). Determination of organism-specific Treponema IgM antibodies in the serum of syphilis patients with and without central nervous system involvement of the infection].

For demonstration of treponemal IgM antibodies in sera and CSF taken from 56 syphilitic patients with or without involvement of the CNS in the infection, comparative studies have been performed making use of the 19S(IgM)-FTA-ABS test and a TP-IgM-ELISA. Compared with the 19S(IgM)-FTA-ABS, the TP-IgM-ELISA has a specificity of 97% and a sensitivity of 93%. With regard to qualitative investigation of serum samples, both tests showed nearly equivalent results. In 10 out of 16 CSF samples taken from patients with untreated neurosyphilis, a treponemal IgM antibody could be proved by TP-IgM-ELISA. According to these findings, this assay seems to be a reliable test system for demonstration of treponemal IgM antibodies not only in serum but also in CSF.