title: A patient with infantile spasms and low homovanillic acid levels in cerebrospinal fluid: L-dopa dependent seizures?
abstract: We report a 3-month-old female with infantile spasms that responded transiently to pyridoxine and permanently to oral L-dopa. Initial CSF levels of homovanillic acid were low, suggesting disturbed turnover of dopamine. These findings suggest that disturbed brain monoamine metabolism may be causally related to infantile spasms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Tokyo Women's Medical College, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugie
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugie
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fukuyama
mesh_terms: D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011736:Pyridoxine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013036:Spasms, Infantile / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D007980:Levodopa; D011736:Pyridoxine; D004298:Dopamine; D006719:Homovanillic Acid