Estimation of cerebrospinal fluid protein.

Three turbidometric methods and one method using ultraviolet spectrophotometry for estimating total cerebrospinal fluid protein have been examined. The necessity for preliminary dialysis renders the ultraviolet method unsuitable for routine use. The turbidometric method of Meulemans (1960) using a sulphosalicylic acid-sodium sulphate precipitating fluid is better than a method using sulphosalicylic acid alone which is affected by the albumin-globulin ratio, and has a greater sensitivity and better reproducibility than a method using trichloracetic acid as a precipitant. Turbidity may be measured with a spectrophotometer or an MRC grey wedge photometer with human or bovine albumin as a standard. This method deserves wider acceptance.