title: Concentration of enkephalins in cerebrospinal fluid of patients after severe head injury.
abstract: We studied head-injured patients treated at the Department of Neurosurgery, Silesian University School of Medicine, Katowice. The patients underwent lumbar puncture on days 1, 4 and 7 for diagnostic reasons. The levels of leu-enkephalin (LENK) and met-enkephalin (MENK) were examined in 4.5 ml of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The control group included patients with lumbar discopathy from whom CSF fluid was collected during myelography. Enkephalins were extracted by column chromatography and their levels were assayed radioimmunologically. The results indicate that enkephalins may play a certain role in the pathophysiological response of nervous tissue to traumatic injury. Constantly elevated MENK levels together with decreasing LENK levels in patients with a Glasgow coma scale score < or = 8 may be useful as a poor prognostic factor. It is also suggested that LENK and MENK play different pathophysiological roles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Silesian University School of Medicine, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Stachura
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kowalski
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Obuchowicz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huzarska
authors.forename: Z S
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Herman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004745:Enkephalins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D005260:Female; D006407:Hematoma, Epidural, Cranial / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology; D006408:Hematoma, Subdural / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D004745:Enkephalins