title: Serotonin in human lumbar cerebrospinal fluid: a reassessment.
abstract: An inter-laboratory comparison study was carried out in order to ascertain mean levels of serotonin (5-HT) in human lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Analyses were performed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with either electrochemical (LC-EC) or fluorometric (LC-F) detection. With the detection limits obtained (7-8 pg/ml for LC-EC, 7-15 pg/ml for LC-F) 5-HT was not usually detected in human lumbar CSF. The findings indicate that the true mean concentration of CSF 5-HT is less than 10 pg/ml. This upper limit is substantially lower than all previous reports of 5-HT concentrations in normal human lumbar CSF. The extremely low concentrations of 5-HT present in CSF make it unlikely that CSF 5-HT will be of clinical utility in assessing central serotonergic function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: I N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Mefford
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Tolliver
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Riddle
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Ocame
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Leckman
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004563:Electrochemistry; D006801:Humans; D008161:Lumbosacral Region; D012701:Serotonin / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin