title: Alterations in cerebrospinal fluid uridine, hypoxanthine, and xanthine in head-injured patients.
abstract: 1. Examination of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of head-injured patients reveals that the concentration of intraventricular xanthine is elevated and that of uridine is decreased relative to those of adult lumbar CSF. 2. No correlations were observed between CSF lactate and CSF hypoxanthine, xanthine, or uridine, suggesting that changes in purine metabolites and the pyrimidine nucleoside do not index similar cellular events as does lactic acid production. 3. Ventricular CSF from hydrocephalic infants had uridine and hypoxanthine concentrations not significantly different from those of normal adult lumbar CSF, but xanthine was significantly elevated. 4. Since uridine has anticonvulsant properties and is a crucial substrate for cerebral metabolism, it may be useful to evaluate this pyrimidine for use in the management of patients with head injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-7010.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rosner
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Ghia
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Powers
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Kafer
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Hunt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D019271:Hypoxanthine; D007042:Hypoxanthines / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D014529:Uridine / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D014696:Ventriculostomy; D019820:Xanthine; D014970:Xanthines / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
chemical_list: D007042:Hypoxanthines; D014970:Xanthines; D019820:Xanthine; D019271:Hypoxanthine; D014529:Uridine