Increased cerebrospinal fluid concentration of nitrite in Parkinson's disease.
The concentration of nitrite, a metabolite of nitric oxide (NO), was increased in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of untreated patients with Parkinson's disease and in patients treated with L-DOPA in comparison with a group of patients without dopaminergic dysfunction. There was no difference in the concentration of L-arginine (ARG), a precursor of NO, between the groups. There was a highly significant, linear relationship between the concentration of nitrite and ARG in the CSF suggesting that the production of NO is dependent on the availability of ARG. The results support the possibility that production of NO is increased in the brain in Parkinson's disease.
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
G A
GA
Qureshi
S
S
Baig
I
I
Bednar
P
P
Södersten
G
G
Forsberg
A
A
Siden
D000368:Aged; D001120:Arginine / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D009573:Nitrites / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000378:metabolism; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D009573:Nitrites; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D007980:Levodopa; D001120:Arginine