title: Levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid in cerebrospinal fluid in various neurologic disorders.
abstract: Levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in CSF were measured by the ion exchange-fluorometric method in 136 patients who underwent evaluation for neurologic disorders. In 19 patients with no organic neurologic or mental disorders who acted as normal controls, the mean (+/-SD) GABA level in CSF was 239 +/- 76 picomoles/mL. Patients with acute hypoxic encephalopathy showed a mean GABA level in CSF higher than that of the controls, a difference that was statistically significant. In all the other disorders studied, the mean GABA level in CSF was either equal to or lower than that found in the controls. Statistically significant reductions of the GABA level in CSF were seen in patients with Huntington's disease, dementias, cerebellar cortical atrophy, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and Parkinson's disease.
mesh_terms: D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002526:Cerebellar Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood; D003704:Dementia / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D004032:Diet; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D007980:Levodopa / Q000494:pharmacology; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D009136:Muscular Dystrophies / Q000097:blood; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000378:metabolism; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D014021:Tissue Preservation; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000032:analysis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
chemical_list: D007980:Levodopa; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D003402:Creatine Kinase