Tuberculosis meningitis can be assessed by biological fingerprint in children to study the severity of the condition and decide treatment.

‘Biological fingerprint in children with tuberculosis meningitis can be used to assess the severity of the condition, helps to decide the best course of treatment and also provide clues for new treatment.’

By comparing the blood and spinal cord fluid of 44 children with tuberculosis meningitis (TBM) and 20 patients with other spinal cord disorders, the team identified a set of biological markers elevated in TBM.




The most common markers indicate damage of neurons and neuron-supporting cells, and their presence in the bloodstream and spinal cord can help to determine disease progression.
The research, funded by Wellcome, is published in the journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
In the study, the children that developed severe disabilities or died from TBM had the highest levels of these biological markers, and the levels increased over time, suggesting that this information could be used to help predict disease outcome.
"This is the first time that anyone has found a set of biological markers for TBM," says Robert Wilkinson, Group Leader at the Crick and Imperial College London, and Director of the Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa at the University of Cape Town.
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Whilst the immune response to TBM sets up some of the damage, this new research suggests that markers of ongoing neuronal injury are more predictive of disease severity than markers of immune response.
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The paper 'Biomarkers of cerebral injury and inflammation in pediatric tuberculous meningitis' is published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Source-Eurekalert