High WBC in CSF

[lindseyd2400]

I have had 2 LPs done. In one my WBC was high (just in my csf, was not in my blood). In the second, it was 0. I had this done at the Mayo Clinic where I was also tested for everything under the sun to check for other things besides MS, and everything else possible!  Everything was negative. My doc can not explain this....I am lost and looking for help on here. It has to be something to do with my central nervous system because my serum did not have elevated WBCs. Please help, any info on this can help. Btw, I have no dx for MS yet, I know it is hard to say the least!

[sllowe]

Hi Lindsey,

Welcome, Lindsey.  Sorry your post already slipped to the 2nd page!

Did they say what was ruled out so far? Or at least provide you with some next steps? An infectious disease Dr., or something?

Sorry for what you are going through.  You've come to a great forum and hope we can help.  Also, do you have copies of all the reports so far?

Thanks for joining us,
Shell

[lindseyd2400]

Like you, everything else has come back normal, except I have one O Band in my csf....I am so frustrated, as are you I'm sure...Makes me sick to know I have been ruled out for everything under the sun except MS. No treatment so scared about what is going to happen next, I have multiple problems that seem to not be going away, like my speech, balance, typing, writing...so annoying!

[steph74]

Found this info:

"WHITE BLOOD CELL (WBC) COUNT. The number of white blood cells in CSF is very low, usually necessitating a manual WBC count. An increase in WBCs may occur in many conditions including infection (viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic), allergy, leukemia, multiple sclerosis, hemorrhage, traumatic tap, encephalitis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. The WBC differential helps to distinguish many of these causes. For example, viral infection is usually associated with an increase in lymphocytes, while bacterial and fungal infections are associated with an increase in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (neutrophils). The differential may also reveal eosinophils associated with allergy and ventricular shunts; macrophages with ingested bacteria (indicating meningitis), RBCs (indicating hemorrhage), or lipids (indicating possible cerebral infarction); blasts (immature cells) that indicate leukemia; and malignant cells characteristic of the tissue of origin. About 50% of metastatic cancers that infiltrate the central nervous system and about 10% of central nervous system tumors will shed cells into the CSF.

Read more: http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/Ce-Fi/Cerebrospinal-Fluid-CSF-Analysis.html#ixzz0OA7oSsDx"


Not quite what you're looking for, I'm sure.

[steph74]

Hi Lindsey,

I don't have any answers, but I can say that I had a similar experience.  I'm not dx (7 years of sx), all MRIs, labwork, etc., have been clear.  My neuro exam does show definite deficits.  The only labwork that has been "off" was elevated WBC in my CSF (not blood, either, like you).

Hopefully someone else will have some answers.

Stephanie