Cerebrospinal fluid nitric oxide metabolites in painful diseases.
To elucidate the involvement of NO in pain transmission in humans, we measured NO metabolites (nitrite/nitrate) in the CSF of patients with painful diseases using an NO analyzer based on the Griess method. The nitrite/nitrate levels in patients with degenerative lumbar disease (DLD), but not those with fracture or appendicitis, were significantly higher than those in an age-matched control group. The duration of pain in the DLD group was much longer than that in the fracture or appendicitis group. The nitrite/nitrate levels in the middle-aged and elderly DLD patients depended on the duration of pain. These data probably suggest that the duration of pain is critical for the elevation in nitrite/nitrate levels.
Kimura
S
S
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata-shi, Japan.
Watanabe
K
K
Yajiri
Y
Y
Motegi
T
T
Masuya
Y
Y
Shibuki
K
K
Uchiyama
S
S
Homma
T
T
Takahashi
H E
HE
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008161:Lumbosacral Region; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009566:Nitrates / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D009573:Nitrites / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010146:Pain / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors
D009566:Nitrates; D009573:Nitrites