Alpha-synuclein in the cerebrospinal fluid is a biomarker for Parkinson's disease. Contamination of the sample by peripheral blood may cause a false elevation in its concentration.
Specimen: cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
The amount of blood contamination that can interfere with the assay is very small.
If measuring CSF alpha-synuclein, then the sample should also have the hemoglobin concentration quantified.
The alpha-synuclein concentration is considered reliable as long as the CSF hemoglobin concentration is less than 1,569 µg/L (1.569 mg/L). The alpha-synuclein variation is less than 5% at this concentration.
For comparison, peripheral blood may have a hemoglobin concentration of 140,000 mg/L (normal hemoglobin).
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