Cerebrospinal fluid levels of quinolinic acid in Huntington's disease and schizophrenia.
The concentration of the endogenous excitotoxin quinolinic acid was determined in the cerebrospinal fluid of drug-free patients suffering from Huntington's disease or schizophrenia (control group). In both diseases, quinolinic acid concentrations were highly variable (less than 4-48 nM) but the mean levels for each disease group were not significantly different from each other or from the quinolinic acid concentration of normal cerebrospinal fluid. Analysis of steady-state cerebrospinal fluid quinolinic acid concentration is unlikely to be of value as a diagnostic tool in Huntington's disease.
Schwarcz
R
R
Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Baltimore, MD 21228.
Tamminga
C A
CA
Kurlan
R
R
Shoulson
I
I
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011725:Pyridines / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D017378:Quinolinic Acid; D011805:Quinolinic Acids / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
D011725:Pyridines; D011805:Quinolinic Acids; D017378:Quinolinic Acid