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Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155:618-619.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

We agree strongly with the comment of Wong et al¹ that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein concentration is age dependent and that neonates have higher CSF protein values than older children. In an analogous study we examined CSF obtained by nontraumatic lumbar puncture from 63 full-term neonates (aged 0-4 weeks) who were evaluated for sepsis or meningitis.² Of them, 38 with no sepsis or meningitis (bacterial or aseptic) and an uneventful clinical course were considered "healthy." The mean (range) CSF protein concentration in these healthy neonates was 0.49 g/L (0.25-0.82 g/L), similar to the concentration reported by Wong et al.

Albumin in the CSF is believed to derive from serum because de novo synthesis of albumin within the central nervous system has not been proven.³ The CSF protein concentration is related to the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), known to be less effective in neonates than in children and adults,⁴ . . . [Full Text of this Article]