{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T14:41:08Z","timestamp":1779374468741,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,25]],"date-time":"2025-06-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1750809600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"funder":[{"name":"Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,22]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Naegleria fowleri is a pathogenic free-living amoeba that causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare and difficult-to-diagnose form of meningitis. By testing patient cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for ergosterol, a membrane component unique to fungi and amoeba, cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis may be distinguished from cases of bacterial and viral meningitis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Pooled CSF was fortified with ergosterol, extracted, filtered, and measured by liquid chromatography\u2013tandem mass spectrometry. Measurement method precision, sensitivity, recovery, and stability were evaluated. In vitro cell cultures of N fowleri and a sample (n\u2005=\u2005200) of deidentified residual patient CSF specimens were also tested for ergosterol.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Ergosterol remained stable in CSF at 4 \u00b0C and \u201380 \u00b0C. The mean variation and total error of the method were 7.4% and 15.8%, respectively. The method limit of quantification (LOQ) was 1.0 ng\/mL, which translated to an in vitro LOQ of 2650 cells\/mL or higher. A trace of ergosterol, below the LOQ, was detected in a patient specimen positive for cryptococcal meningitis but not in any other CSF specimens.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Ergosterol can be reliably detected in spiked human CSF samples and in the supernatant of N fowleri CSF cultures at concentrations of 1.0 to 500 ng\/mL. The clinical utility of this method, however, requires further exploration.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/labmed\/lmaf030","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]],"date-time":"2025-05-21T08:54:42Z","timestamp":1747817682000},"page":"689-697","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Analytical performance of an assay for ergosterol, a potential biomarker for\n                    <i>Naegleria fowleri<\/i>\n                    in cerebrospinal fluid"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"56","author":[{"given":"Stephen P","family":"Friedrichs","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Laboratory Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond, Virginia ,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christopher D","family":"Doern","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System , Richmond, Virginia 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