[Differential diagnosis of chronic inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system. Cerebrospinal fluid diagnosis and immunological parameters].

A number of neurological syndromes may be evoked by involvement of the nervous system due to systemic diseases such as lupus erythematosus, sarcoidosis, Behcet's disease, and Sjogren's syndrome. Because of different treatment strategies, it is important to distinguish between these different diseases. Neither clinical signs nor additional analyses such as serological findings or cerebrospinal fluid analysis are able to differentiate between the diseases with certainty. Nevertheless, diagnosis may finally be made taking all findings together. Here we compare typical clinical and cerebrospinal fluid findings in neurosarcoidosis, neurolupus, neuro-Behcet, and nervous system involving Sjogren's syndrome, with special emphasis on those findings allowing differentiation of the respective diseases.