Cerebrospinal fluid levels of immunoreactive substance P and somatostatin in patients with multiple sclerosis and inflammatory CNS disease.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of substance-P like immunoreactivity (SPLI) and somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI) were measured in 43 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), differentiated according to course and activity of the disease, in 23 patients with inflammatory disease of known bacterial or viral etiology and in 16 control patients using specific radioimmunoassay. SPLI and SLI levels were not significantly different from controls in MS patients whereas SLI was significantly increased in patients with infectious disease of central nervous system and/or subarachnoidal space. It is assumed that CSF SPLI and SLI cannot serve as a diagnostic or prognostic indicator of disease state in multiple sclerosis. Analysis of immunoreactivity by reverse phase HPLC-RIA revealed marked molecular heterogeneity of both neuropeptides.