Table 1 Absolute concentrations of kappa (K) and lambda (L) free light chains (FLC), CSF ratios and indexes were determined in multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory neurological diseases other than MS (ID), and non-ID.

From: Intrathecal kappa free light chains as markers for multiple sclerosis

 

MS (n = 133)

ID (n = 93)

Non-ID (n = 147)

Sensitivity (%)

Specificity (%)

CSF markers (not albumin or serum-corrected): mean ± SD

KFLC (mg/dl)

0.48 ± 0.56*#

0.20 ± 0.53

0.03 ± 0.13

78.9

97.5

LFLC (mg/dl)

0.13 ± 0.16

0.05 ± 056

0.06 ± 0.22

56.3

81.8

IgG (mg/dl)

4.90 ± 3.24

6.64 ± 12.71

3.91 ± 6.28

60.9

62.1

KFLC/LFLC ratio

16.24 ± 40.47

8.31 ± 33.37

0.98 ± 0.53

77.8

77.5

KFLC/IgG ratio

85.44 ± 66.67*#

33.36 ± 57.08

9.20 ± 7.49

86.5

87.9

LFLC/IgG ratio

2.81 ± 2.86*

1.17 ± 0.99

1.17 ± 0.83

51.3

88.1

Markers corrected for blood-CSF barrier permeability

IgG index: mean ± SD

0.85 ± 0.46*

0.56 ± 0.22

0.50 ± 0.13

70.5

68.8

KFLC index: mean ± SD

70.84 ± 86.70*#

26.38 ± 77.25

3.08 ± 6.21

93.2

85.4

LFLC index: mean ± SD

17.07 ± 23.00*

3.93 ± 6.88

3.76 ± 8.43

80.3

80.3

Reiber’s KFLC diagram: mean ± SD

88.2 ± 18.2*#

34.5 ± 22.10

16.4 ± 22.6

98.1

53.2

OB: yes/no

127/6

28/65

7/140

95.5

85.2

  1. Values are expressed in mean ± standard deviation (SD). We included 373 patients for KFLC and oligoclonal bands (OB) evaluation, 223 of them were tested also for LFLC.
  2. OB yes/no: “yes” was intended for types II (OB exclusively in CSF and not in serum) and III (contemporary presence of OB in both CSF and serum with a clear predominance in CSF).
  3. *Means significantly different in MS from ID and non-ID (p < 0.005 was considered significant according to Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons).
  4. #Means significantly different among three groups (MS versus ID versus non-ID, p < 0.05).
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