title: Nonhomogeneous distribution of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acid in the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid of man.
abstract: The volume of the lumbar sac measured in 4 subjects was found to be 15.5 ml. Exactly 15 ml of lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (L-CSF) was permitted to flow freely out during a lumbar puncture in 20 neurological patients and small samples of the L-CSF were collected in the beginning (sample 1), at the middle (sample 2), and at the end (sample 3) of this procedure either for 5-HIAA or HVA measurement. The concentrations of 5-HIAA and HVA increased in an exponential manner from sample 1 to sample 3. These results indicate that CSF in the lumbar sac is not a homogeneous fluid as is generally believed and that certain rules have to be followed in the sampling of the L-CSF to obtain reproducible biochemical data.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D006801:Humans; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010648:Phenylacetates / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D013129:Spinal Puncture / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D010648:Phenylacetates; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; D006719:Homovanillic Acid