title: Cerebrospinal fluid quinolinic acid concentrations are increased in acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
abstract: Dementia and brain atrophy are established features of a large proportion of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). To investigate a potential mechanism for atrophy in AIDS, we measured the concentration of the endogenous neurotoxin quinolinic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid of 10 patients with AIDS and found that they had 3-fold higher quinolinic acid concentrations than 9 age-matched control subjects: 53.8 +/- 10.7 pmol/ml versus 18.4 +/- 3.4 pmol/ml, respectively (p less than 0.005). It remains to be determined whether increased brain quinolinic acid concentrations are involved in the pathogenesis of the neuropathology of AIDS.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Heyes
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rubinow
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Markey
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011725:Pyridines / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D017378:Quinolinic Acid; D011805:Quinolinic Acids / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011725:Pyridines; D011805:Quinolinic Acids; D014364:Tryptophan; D017378:Quinolinic Acid