A consensus protocol for the standardisation of cerebrospinal fluid collection and biobanking

There is a long history of research on body fluid biomarkers in neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases. However, only very few biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are being used in clinical practice. One of the most critical factors in CSF biomarker research is the inadequate powering of studies owing to the lack of sufficient samples that can be obtained in single-centre studies. Therefore, collaboration between investigators is needed to establish large biobanks of well-defined samples. Standardised protocols for biobanking are a prerequisite to ensure that the statistical power gained by increasing the numbers of CSF samples is not compromised by preanalytical factors. Here, a consensus report on guidelines of CSF collection and biobanking is presented, formed by the European network for Biomarkers in MS for CSF biomarker research in multiple sclerosis. In this paper, we focus on CSF collection procedures, preanalytical factors, and high quality clinical and paraclinical information. The biobanking protocols are applicable for CSF biobanks for research targeting any neurological disease.

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