Comparison between agarose gel electrophoresis (Panagel) of cerebrospinal fluid with silver staining, and polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis for demonstration of the oligoclonal pattern in neurological disorders

Abstract A high resolution agarose gel system (Panagel) with silver staining and polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis were used to demonstrate oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 150 patients identified as having either inflammatory neurological diseases (110 patients) or non‐inflammatory neurological diseases (40 patients). The detection of oligoclonal band patterns in high resolution agarose electrophoresis is sensitive: 65% (polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis: 50%) and specific: 95% (polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis: 73%) with respect to inflammatory neurological diseases. This procedure is easier to perform than polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis and is recommended for routine examination of CSF especially for the detection of oligoclonal bands.