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Magnesium concentration in blood serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was determined in 131 patients aged from 21 to 91 years, with RIND, complete stroke, cerebral haemorrhage and control group. Magnesium was estimated by the use of colorimetry and the method of Mann and Yoe. The results are presented in figures. Statistical evaluations revealed significant decrease of magnesium concentrations in blood serum and CSF in ischaemic stroke compared with control group. In complete stroke significantly lower concentrations of magnesium in blood serum and CSF were found compared with RIND. In ischaemic stroke higher MgSER/MgCSF index was found compared with control group. Magnesium concentration in blood serum was not statistically different within 2 weeks of the disease. No relationships were found between blood serum or CSF Mg concentrations and gender or age.

Fifty-one cases of parasagittal meningiomas were analysed. In 37 cases the tumour was situated in the middle and posterior part of the falx. In 17 cases occlusion of the superior sagittal sinus was diagnosed and confirmed by angiography. No correlation was found between the extent of brain oedema and sinus occlusion and tumour size. However, extensive oedema was present in tumours of high malignancy. Occlusion of the sagittal sinus caused no increase of intracranial pressure or venous stasis. This suggests that sinus occlusion caused by meningioma is completely compensated and has no effect on the preoperative and postoperative course.

The levels of oxyhaemoglobin and bilirubin were determined in the cerebrospinal fluid in 46 cases of subarachnoideal haemorrhage and cerebromeningeal haemorrhage, 18 cases of haemorrhagic infarction. Autopsy confirmation was available in 18 cases of haemorrhages and 18 cases of infarction. Determination of oxyhaemoglobin and bilirubin levels in the cerebrospinal fluid is not sufficient as a reliable basis for differentiating between cerebral haemorrhage and haemorrhagic infarction. High values of oxyhaemoglobin and bilirubin seem to indicate bleeding into the cerebrospinal fluid spaces. Assessment of oxyhaemoglobin level and cerebrospinal fluid sediment suggests in some cases the diagnosis.

The authors report the results of scintigraphic investigations in 70 patients treated for brain strokes. The diagnostic and prognostic values of these investigations were estimated. It was observed that ischaemic foci were present most frequently in the area of vascularization of the middle cerebral artery. The intensity of neurological signs was correlated with the size of the pathological focus in the cerebral scintiscan. A close relationship was observed between improvement in the neurological status of the patients and regression of pathological changes in control scintigrams.

The value of S-100 protein as a biochemical marker of the extension of brain damage was studied in a rat model of ischaemic stroke. Increased S-100 levels in cerebrospinal fluid were found between the second and fifth day stroke, and the highest values were noted in animals with largest infarcts. In the acute phase ischaemic stroke S-100 protein in cerebrospinal fluid can be useful as a marker of ischaemic brain damage, but further studies on markers of ischaemic stroke are necessary for better diagnosis of cerebral tissue injury.

In 70 cases of ischaemic brain strokes and 25 cases serving as a reference group the levels of immunoglobulin A, M, G were determined in the cerebrospinal fluid. The obtained results demonstrated that in the studied group the mean levels of IgA and IgM and total protein were increased in the cerebrospinal fluid. The value of IgG was unchanged in relation to the control group. The rise in the mean levels of IgA and IgM was not always parallel with the rise in the total protein level. The authors discuss the importance of blood-brain barrier. Its role seems plausible in cases with raised levels of immunoglobulins and total protein. These changes in the levels of immunoglobulins can be a result of various concomitant local and systemic factors.

The concentration of pyruvate in the venous blood of 31 patients with stroke was determined by the enzymatic spectrophotometric method. The pyruvate concentration was raised on the 1st, 3rd and 10th days after stroke and this increase was statistically significant. Pyruvate concentration changes in venous blood were associated with severe clinical condition of the patients.

Catalase-like activity was determined in the cerebrospinal fluid of 16 patients with cerebral haemorrhage, 24 cases od encephalomalacia due to thrombosis, and 10 controls. It was demonstrated that catalase-like activity in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with cerebral stroke is significantly raised in relation to the activity observed in controls. This rise is patricularly evident in the first 24 hours after the onset. The rise was statistically significant only in the group of encephalomalacia.

The author studied the problem of differential diagnosis in cases with blood presence in the cerebrospinal fluid. Among 151 fluid samples obtained from 96 patients he found pathological admixture of blood in 117 samples and blood admixture as artifact in 34 samples. Besides the generally accepted differentiating criteria the author draws attention to differences in the process of phagocytosis, attraction of erythrocytes by mononuclear cells and in the transformation and morphology of macrophages. The author puts forward the hypothesis of immunological mechanisms causing attraction of erythrocytes.

Changes of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in cerebrospinal fluid after experimental ischaemic stroke caused by middle cerebral artery occlusion in rat were studied. High enzyme levels were found between the second and seventh day after artery occlusion and they correlated well with the extension of infarct seen in histology. NSE levels in cerebrospinal fluid are sensitive and reliable markers of brain tissue damage during the acute phase of ischaemic stroke.