Clinical significance of serum S100B protein level in early identification of autoimmune encephalitis in children

Abstract

Objective To explore the clinical significance of serum S100B protein level in early identification of autoimmune encephalitis （AE） in children. Methods 30 children with AE were selected in the AE group， 30 children with viral encephalitis were allocated in the viral encephalitis group， and 30 healthy children were assigned in the healthy control group. The levels of serum S100B protein， neuron-specific enolase （NSE） and matrix metalloproteinase （MMP） were measured in three groups. The predictive values of serum S100B protein， NSE and MMP in early identification of AE in children were analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve. Serum S100B protein levels in children with different stages AE， different severity of AE and different prognosis were comparatively analyzed. Results The levels of serum S100B protein， NSE and MMP in the AE group were significantly higher than those in the viral encephalitis and healthy control groups， and the levels of serum S100B protein， NSE and MMP in the viral encephalitis group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group （all P < 0.05）. The area under the ROC curve （AUC） of serum S100B protein for predicting AE was 0.881， significantly larger than those of NSE （Z = 2.142， P = 0.032） and MMP （Z = 2.360， P = 0.018）. The serum S100B protein levels in AE patients with acute attack， severe disease and poor prognosis were significantly higher than those in their counterparts in recovery stage， with mild disease and good prognosis， respectively （all P < 0.05）. Conclusions Serum S100B protein level is of significant value for early diagnosis of pediatric AE. In addition， it provides certain reference value for evaluation of AE severity， treatment monitoring and prognostic assessment of children with AE.

Keywords

• |autoimmune encephalitis|child|s100b protein|early stage|diagnosis