Increases in Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase in Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis

Abstract

IN an effort to find a rapid, quantitative index of response to the induction of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was measured spectrophotometrically¹ and electrophoretically in the serum of control and experimental rabbits. EAE is induced in animals for the study of autoallergic diseases by inoculation with whole spinal cord suspended in complete Freund's adjuvant. This disease is characterized by clinical signs of weakness or paralysis and is confirmed histologically by scattered perivascular lesions of the central nervous system. The perivascular cuffs are made up of a variety of cellular elements, especially lymphocytes, plasma cells and histiocytes. In seeking an index of disease for further studies, we examined serum LDH because its kinetic and electrophoretic properties have proved useful in several types of clinical diagnoses as a correlate of organ damage².