5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acid in cerebrospinal fluid of children with febrile convulsions.
5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained from febrile children subdivided according to the presence or absence of convulsions. Lumbar puncture was made either early (mean time 2 h) or late (3-6 days) after the febrile convulsion. The level of 5-HIAA was significantly decreased in children early and late after the febrile convulsion as compared with the convulsion-free group, but the HVA level was reduced only early after the febrile convulsion. These results support the hypothesis that a decrease in CSF 5-HIAA may be a biologic marker of susceptibility to convulsions and indicate that the transient decrease in HVA is a secondary phenomenon related to occurrence of convulsions.
Service de Neurologie, CHRU de Dijon, France.
M
M
Giroud
R
R
Dumas
M
M
Dauvergne
P
P
D'Athis
L
L
Rochette
A
A
Beley
J
J
Bralet
D002675:Child, Preschool; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D006801:Humans; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; D006719:Homovanillic Acid