Method for early diagnosis and diagnosis, for prognosis and assessment of the severity and for therapy-accompanying monitoring of inflammatory diseases and infections, in particular sepsis-like systemic infections and Alzheimer's disease, in which the presence and/or amount of the protein LASP-1 (SEQ ID NO:1) or of the protein LAP-1 (SEQ ID NO:16) or of an immunoreactive fragment of one of these proteins in free and/or protein-bound form is determined, preferably as immunoreactivity, in a biological fluid, or optionally a tissue sample, of a patient, and conclusions are drawn with respect to the presence, the expected course, the severity or the success of a therapy of the inflammatory disease or of the infection from the presence and/or amount of the proteins determined.