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Differential fatty acid analysis of cerebrospinal fluid in infants and young children with suspected meningitis

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Abstract

Purpose

Meningitis is relatively common in infants and young children and can cause permanent brain damage. The aim of this study was to determine whether meningitis is associated with fatty acids in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Methods

CSF samples from children between 3 months and 6 years of age admitted to the Tabriz public hospitals who met clinical criteria of meningitis were collected at enrollment. A total of 81 samples were analyzed for fatty acid profile by gas–liquid chromatography.

Results

Children with a purulent meningitis demonstrated a higher percentage of oleic acid (p < 0.05, >10 %) and lower percentages of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (p < 0.001, <−40 %) than aseptic meningitis and nonmeningitis groups did. There was an inverse relationship between CSF long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and the total number of leukocytes and differential counts of neutrophils and lymphocytes in the purulent meningitis group. Moreover, significantly lower omega-3 fatty acids (p = 0.001, −37 %) and higher ratio of n-6/n-3 (p = 0.02, −29 %) were found in patients with purulent meningitis with sepsis than in those with meningitis and no sepsis.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence that purulent meningitis and its complication with sepsis are associated with important disturbances in CSF fatty acids, mainly deficiency in long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all of the subjects who kindly agreed to participate in this study. The authors would like to thank Maryam Darabi, PhD (Institute of Clinical Chemistry, Zurich), for her critical reading of the manuscript. This study was partially conducted as part of a Master’s thesis project no. 94/1-2/2 at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences for the first author. This work was supported by the Pediatric Health Research Center at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences [grant number 5/93/140]. Support was also provided by the Emergency Medicine Research Team at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences.

Authors’ contribution

Conceived and designed study: MD and MB. Performed measurements: EE, AM, MS, and SG. Analyzed the data: EE, MB, and AM. Contributed reagents/materials: EE, AM, MS, SG, and AA. Wrote the paper: MD, MB, EE, AM, MS, AA and SG. Critically revised the manuscript: MD and MB.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box: 51367-35886, Tabriz, Iran

    Elham Ekhtiyari, Mohammad Barzegar & Masoud Darabi

  2. Liver and Gastrointestinal Disease Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Amir Mehdizadeh

  3. Department of Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Maghsood Shaaker & Alireza Abhari

  4. Emergency Medicine Research Team, Department of Emergency Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Sepideh Ghodoosifar

Authors
  1. Elham Ekhtiyari
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  2. Mohammad Barzegar
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  3. Amir Mehdizadeh
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  4. Maghsood Shaaker
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  5. Sepideh Ghodoosifar
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  6. Alireza Abhari
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  7. Masoud Darabi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masoud Darabi.

Ethics declarations

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This cross-sectional study was reviewed and approved by the ethics committee of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (IRB permission number 5.4.11707), and a direct parent (mother or father) provided written informed consent. This study was performed according with the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Funding

This study was partially conducted as part of a Master’s thesis project no. 94/1-2/2 at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences for the first author. This work was supported by the Pediatric Health Research Center at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences [grant number 5/93/140]. Support was also provided by the Emergency Medicine Research Team at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences.

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Ekhtiyari, E., Barzegar, M., Mehdizadeh, A. et al. Differential fatty acid analysis of cerebrospinal fluid in infants and young children with suspected meningitis. Childs Nerv Syst 33, 111–117 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-016-3232-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-016-3232-x

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