Table 1.

Inflammatory and metabolic testing in CSF of patients with nodding syndrome

	Case 1	Case 2	Case 3
White blood cell count	3	3	1
Cytology	Normal	Rare foamy macrophages	Normal
Red blood cell count	0	1	1
Protein (mg/dl)	21	19	15
Glucose (mg/dl)	63	47	50 (serum 71)
IgG index	Normal	Normal	Normal
Albumin quotient	Normal	Low	Low
Oligoclonal bands	Negative	Positive	Partially identical in CSF and serum
Lactate	Normal	Normal	Normal
Amino acid profile	↑alanine	No diagnostic pattern	No diagnostic pattern
5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid (ref 67–189 nmol/l)	35 ↓	79	95
Homovanillic acid (ref 167–563 nmol/l)	79 ↓ ↓	124 ↓	273
3-O-Methyldopa (ref <100 nmol/l)	8	13	11
Neopterin (ref 8–33 nmol/l)	19	15	23
Tetrahydrobiopterin (ref 9–32 nmol/l)	14	19	18
5-Methyltetrahydrofolate (ref 40–120 nmol/l)	49	50	47
Pyridoxal 5-phosphate (ref 10–37 nmol/l)	19	16	18
Biomarkers for folinic acid-/pyridoxine-responsive seizures (Antiquitin, ALDH7A1)	Not detected	Not detected	Not detected