Cranial computerized tomography and cerebrospinal fluid procoagulant activity in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Thirty-three children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were studied using serial cranial computerized tomography (CCT) and cerebrospinal fluid procoagulant activity (PCA) for 5 years from the time of diagnosis. PCA was also studied in control children without neurological disease and in those with a variety of neurological disorders. Temporary elevation in the CSF PCA was observed during the phase of prophylactic central nervous system treatment in ALL and there was a late rise at 2-3 years off treatment. PCA also rose in the CSF following CNS disturbance in neurologically abnormal children, which suggests that the elevation observed in ALL is not specific to myelin disturbance.