Measles antibodies detected by platelet aggregation and gel precipitation in patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis

Abstract

SummaryTwo serological techniques previously developed in our laboratories, platelet aggregation (PA) and gel precipitation (GP), are introduced as methods for detecting measles antibodies in patients with subacute sclerosing paneneephalitis (SSPE). In PA tests of 11 SSPE patients high serum titers and moderate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) titers were found. In GP tests all the sera formed 3 to 6 lines and CSF 1 to 2 lines against measles antigens. In 6 out of 50 post-measles sera positive PA reactions were found and only weak GP reactions with 1 to 3 lines were seen in tests on 37 sera studied.In post-measles sera the greatest number of positive reactions in both tests were obtained when more than one month had elapsed from the onset of the disease. The results of PA and GP tests correlated well with the results of complement fixation tests in sera and CSF of patients with SSPE, but no clear correlation was observed in post-measles sera.