title: Gradients of concentrations of tryptophan and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
abstract: CSF from neurological and other patients was analyzed for its content of tryptophan, 5-HIAA and homovanilic acid (HVA). The gradients of concentration of these substances from ventricular spaces to lumbar sac indicate that tryptophan and 5-HIAA probably enter the CSF from all levels of the nervous system, but that HVA originates entirely in the brain. A study of CSF tryptophan in patients with hepatic cirrhosis provided no support for theories which implicate abnormal tryptophan metabolism as a cause of hepatic coma.
mesh_terms: D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D006801:Humans; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
chemical_list: D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; D014364:Tryptophan; D006719:Homovanillic Acid