ABSTRACT

Introduction: Central nervous system (CNS) infections can be life-threatening and are often associated with disabling sequelae. One important factor in most CNS infections is a timely pathogen-specific treatment. The diagnostic methods available, however, do not always reach a satisfying sensitivity and specificity. In these cases, there is need for additional diagnostic biomarkers. Chemokines represent potential candidates as biomarkers, since they are an important pillar of the host immune response. The aim of this review is to discuss the diagnostic potential of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) CXCL13 in patients with CNS infections.

Areas covered: Data were obtained from a literature search in PubMed up to October 2019. This review focusses on articles on the potential of CXCL13 as a diagnostic tool. The majority of identified studies aimed to characterize its role in two diseases, namely Lyme neuroborreliosis and neurosyphilis.

Expert opinion: CSF CXCL13 has a significant potential as a diagnostic and monitoring add-on marker in Lyme neuroborreliosis. Differences in study design, control groups and clinical parameters between studies, however, affect sensitivity, specificity and cutoff values, underlining the need of further studies to address these issues and pave the way for a generalized clinical practice.

摘要

简介：中枢神经系统（CNS）感染可能危及生命，并常常与残疾后遗症相关。在大多数中枢神经系统感染中，一个重要因素是及时进行病原体特异性治疗。但是，可用的诊断方法并不总是能达到令人满意的灵敏度和特异性。在这些情况下，需要其他诊断生物标志物。趋化因子是潜在的候选生物标志物，因为它们是宿主免疫反应的重要支柱。这篇综述的目的是讨论脑脊髓液（CSF）CXCL13在中枢神经系统感染患者中的诊断潜力。

涵盖领域：数据来源于截至2019年10月在PubMed上的文献检索。该综述集中于有关CXCL13作为诊断工具的潜力的文章。大部分已鉴定的研究旨在表征其在两种疾病中的作用，即莱姆神经疏螺旋体病和神经梅毒。

专家意见：CSF CXCL13作为莱姆病的诊断和监测附加标志物具有显着的潜力。但是，研究设计，对照组和临床参数之间的差异会影响敏感性，特异性和临界值，从而强调需要开展进一步研究以解决这些问题，并为普遍的临床实践铺平道路。