Abstract
Absence of pathological findings in cerebrospinal fluids of epileptics is considered the rule (Lennox and Merritt 1 ). Nevertheless it seems probable that any process involving chronic destructive changes of the brain tissue should cause the appearance of protein and lipoid cleavage products in the cerebrospinal fluid. In order to detect such cleavage products interferometry and conductivity methods have been used. The NaCl concentrations which give the same conductivity as the cerebrospinal fluids are computed and expressed in interf erometric values (= IE, the inter f erometric values of the electrolytes). When IE is deducted from the interf erometric value of the cerebrospinal fluid, the difference is equal to the inter-ferometric value of the nonelectrolytes (=INE). This is represented in the cerebrospinal fluid by proteins, sugar, lipoids, cleavage products. The ratio INE/IE is independent of concentration changes in the cerebrospinal fluid. Furthermore, by combining the results of the physicochemical methods with the results of chemical investigations (protein, sugar, chlorides determinations) it is possible to compute the residual interf erometric value (RIV), which is not accounted for by the said determinations. This is done by computing the protein and sugar concentrations in terms of inter-ferometric values and deducting these values from INE.
In Table I the average INE/IE and RIV found in 60 cases with convulsive seizures are recorded together with the analogous values found in normal cases (14), in cases with other organic nervous disturbances (49), and in cases with brain tumors (25).
A comparison of the figures indicates that the average INE/IE and RIV in convulsive states is not only higher than in the normal cases, but also higher than in the cases with other nervous disorders and inferior only to the analogous figures in brain tumors.
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