Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25975424›Full record

ArticleFluids and barriers of the CNS2015

The chemokine CXCL13 is elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with neurosyphilis.

R Dersch, T Hottenrott, M Senel, V Lehmensiek, H Tumani, S Rauer, O Stich

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Fluids and barriers of the CNS, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

33 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Guideline
  3. Pooled it
  4. German guideline on neurosyphilis.Neurological research and practice · 2026
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. A Study on the Inflammatory Response of the Brain in Neurosyphilis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Analysis ofInfection and drug resistance · 2022
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. The predictive value of CXCL13 in suspected Lyme neuroborreliosis: a retrospective cross-sectional study.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2020
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

R DerschDepartment of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 64, 79106, Freiburg, Germany. rick.dersch@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
T HottenrottDepartment of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 64, 79106, Freiburg, Germany. tilman.hottenrott@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
M SenelDepartment of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany. makbule.senel@uni-ulm.de.
V LehmensiekDepartment of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany. vera.lehmensiek@uni-ulm.de.
H TumaniDepartment of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany. hayrettin.tumani@uni-ulm.de.
S RauerDepartment of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 64, 79106, Freiburg, Germany. sebastian.rauer@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
O StichDepartment of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 64, 79106, Freiburg, Germany. oliver.stich@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
University Medical Center Freiburg · DEUniversität Ulm · DEUniversity Hospital Ulm · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe chemokine CXCL13 has been discussed as a diagnostic parameter with high specificity for Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) and as a marker of disease activity. Neurosyphilis and LNB share similar characteristics. We investigated retrospectively CXCL13 levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with neurosyphilis at initial diagnosis and during treatment.

resultsFive patients with neurosyphilis were identified retrospectively using an electronic database in a tertiary care hospital from 2005 to 2012. CXCL13 levels were measured using an ELISA. Five patients with definite LNB and 10 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) served as controls. Median CXCL13 levels at baseline were 972 pg/mL for neurosyphilis patients, 8,000 pg/mL for LNB patients, and 7.8 pg/mL for MS patients. Patients with LNB and neurosyphilis showed significantly higher CXCL13 levels in their CSF compared to MS patients (p < 0.05, p < 0.001, respectively). CXCL13 levels in the CSF declined during treatment.

conclusionCXCL13 levels in the CSF of patients with neurosyphilis can be as high as in patients with LNB, exceeding the proposed threshold of 250 pg/mL for the diagnosis of LNB. Patients with encephalitic/myelitic syndromes appear to have especially high levels of CXCL13. Clinicians should be aware that high levels of CXCL13 are not found exclusively in LNB but also in other infectious diseases of the CNS.

Indexed as

AdultAgedChemokine CXCL13FemaleHumansLyme NeuroborreliosisMaleMiddle AgedMultiple SclerosisNeurosyphilisRetrospective StudiesChemokine CXCL13CXCL13 protein, human

Identifiers

PMID25975424
PMCPMC4489031
OpenAlexW2099046130

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.