title: Increase of plasma methionine-enkephalin levels in patients at the acute stage of cerebral infarction.
abstract: We investigated the participation of endogenous opioid peptide in cerebral ischaemia. In 13 patients with supratentorial infarction, the plasma immunoreactive methionine-enkephalin concentration at the acute stage (30.77 +/- 3.54 pg/ml) was significantly higher than that at the chronic stage (20.37 +/- 2.07 pg/ml) or that of the control subjects (19.64 +/- 1.71 pg/ml). However, it was unrelated to infarct size or patient severity. The increased methionine-enkephalin, which appears to originate from the sympatho-adrenal system or infarcted brain, may play a role in the evolution of cerebral ischaemia.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000097:blood*; D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine