Use of cerebrospinal fluid CXCL13 concentration for diagnosis and monitoring of neurosyphilis: a three-case report

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5327/DST-2177-8264-2023351390

Keywords:

CXCL13, Neurosyphilis, cerebrospinal fluid, TReponema pallidum

Abstract

Introduction: Previous retrospective studies have demonstrated that the concentration of chemokine ligand CXCL13 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF-CXCL13) is a promising biomarker in the diagnosis of neurosyphilis and, additionally, in the monitoring of therapeutic efficacy. Objective: To describe three cases of patients with neurosyphilis (NS) treated at Hospital Universitário Gaffrée e Guinle, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with suspected active syphilis with neurological symptoms. Case report: Three patients from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were investigated for symptomatic NS. The concentration of CSF-CXCL13 was prospectively performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in all participants at baseline and in follow-up visits at 3 months after therapy. CSF-CXCL13 concentrations were significantly higher in all three patients with established NS. The CSF-CXCL13 concentrations decreased after 3 months of therapy compared to baseline in all cases reported. The added high concentration of CSF-CXCL13 plus CSF-TPHA reactivity above 1:40 titer agreed with the diagnosis of NS in 100% of the cases. Conclusion: In this case series, we present three cases of NS diagnosed using CXCL13 in CSF as a complementary test. These case series suggest that the clinical use of CSF-CXCL13 is useful as a supplementary biomarker for NS and for monitoring the effectiveness of NS therapy, especially in patients with nonreactive CSF-VDRL, excluding other neurologic diseases.

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Published

2023-11-27

How to Cite

1.
Carvalho R de S, Rangel I de C, Soane MM, Lopes MQP, Ferry FR de A. Use of cerebrospinal fluid CXCL13 concentration for diagnosis and monitoring of neurosyphilis: a three-case report. DST [Internet]. 2023 Nov. 27 [cited 2024 Dec. 13];35. Available from: https://bjstd.org/revista/article/view/1390

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Case Report