Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) and neurological diseases. Failure in detecting TNF alpha in the cerebrospinal fluid from patients with multiple sclerosis, AIDS dementia complex, and brain tumours.

The presence of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha)/cachectin was investigated in 180 paired cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples from patients with neurological diseases, and in five paired CSF and serum samples of Macaca cynomolgus monkeys with acute monophasic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (AMEAE). TNF alpha was never detected in human CSF, even when an extensive demyelination was documented (active multiple sclerosis, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) dementia complex). Only one Macaca with AMEAE had detectable levels of TNF alpha in CSF but not in serum, suggesting an intrathecal synthesis of this cytokine in AMEAE.