Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jun;51(6):328-33.
doi: 10.3340/jkns.2012.51.6.328. Epub 2012 Jun 30.

Increased Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in the Ventricular Cerebrospinal Fluid as a Predictive Marker for Subsequent Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Infection : A Comparison Study among Hydrocephalic Patients

Jeong-Hyun Lee  1 , Dong-Bin Back, Dong-Hyuk Park, Yoo-Hyun Cha, Shin-Hyuk Kang, Jung-Keun Suh
Affiliations

Increased Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in the Ventricular Cerebrospinal Fluid as a Predictive Marker for Subsequent Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Infection : A Comparison Study among Hydrocephalic Patients

Jeong-Hyun Lee et al. J Korean Neurosurg Soc. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the association between the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers and inflammation, and the predictive value of these CSF biomarkers for subsequent shunt associated infection.

Methods: We obtained CSF samples from the patients with hydrocephalus during ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt operations. Twenty-two patients were enrolled for this study and divided into 3 groups: subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)-induced hydrocephalus, idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) and hydrocephalus with a subsequent shunt infection. We analyzed the transforming growth factor-β1, tumor necrosis factor-α, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and total tau in the CSF by performing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The subsequent development of shunt infection was confirmed by the clinical presentations, the CSF parameters and CSF culture from the shunt devices.

Results: The mean VEGF concentration (±standard deviation) in the CSF of the SAH-induced hydrocephalus, INPH and shunt infection groups was 236±138, 237±80 and 627±391 pg/mL, respectively. There was a significant difference among the three groups (p=0.01). Between the SAH-induced hydrocephalus and infection groups and between the INPH and infection groups, there was a significant difference of the VEGF levels (p<0.01). However, the other marker levels did not differ among them.

Conclusion: The present study showed that only the CSF VEGF levels are associated with the subsequent development of shunt infection. Our results suggest that increased CSF VEGF could provide a good condition for bacteria that are introduced at the time of surgery to grow in the brain, rather than reflecting a sequel of bacterial infection before VP shunt.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Cerebrospinal fluid; Hydrocephalus; Shunt infection; Vascular endothelial growth factor.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Bayston R, Lambert E. Duration of protective activity of cerebrospinal fluid shunt catheters impregnated with antimicrobial agents to prevent bacterial catheter-related infection. J Neurosurg. 1997;87:247–251. - PubMed
    1. Cheng SY, Nagane M, Huang HS, Cavenee WK. Intracerebral tumor-associated hemorrhage caused by overexpression of the vascular endothelial growth factor isoforms VEGF121 and VEGF165 but not VEGF189. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997;94:12081–12087. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Del Bigio MR. Hydrocephalus-induced changes in the composition of cerebrospinal fluid. Neurosurgery. 1989;25:416–423. - PubMed
    1. Esser S, Wolburg K, Wolburg H, Breier G, Kurzchalia T, Risau W. Vascular endothelial growth factor induces endothelial fenestrations in vitro. J Cell Biol. 1998;140:947–959. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Flood C, Akinwunmi J, Lagord C, Daniel M, Berry M, Jackowski A, et al. Transforming growth factor-beta1 in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage : titers derived from exogenous and endogenous sources. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2001;21:157–162. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources