Summary
The presence of free fructose in human cerebrospinal fluid has been demonstrated by enzymatic analysis and high voltage paper electrophoresis. In 39 of 40 patients the cerebrospinal fluid fructose concentration exceeded that in plasma. A linear correlation (r = + 0.88) was observed between cerebrospinal fluid fructose and glucose concentrations. Present evidence suggests that neural tissues are the source of cerebrospinal fluid fructose, and that fluctuations in cerebrospinal fluid fructose concentration mirror fluctuations in the neural concentrations of this hexose. These observations suggest that increased activity of the sorbitol pathway may exist in the neural tissues of patients with diabetes mellitus similar to that recently observed in tissue from animals with experimental diabetes.
Résumé
La présence de fructose libre a été démontrée dans le liquide céphalo-rachidien humain par analyse enzymatique et électrophorèse à haut voltage sur papier. Dans 39 cas sur 40 la concentration en fructose du liquide céphalo-rachidien dépassait celle du plasma sanguin. Nous avons observé une corrélation linéaire (r = + 0.88) entre les concentrations de fructose et du glucose dans le liquide céphalo-rachidien. Nos connaissances actuelles suggèrent que le fructose du liquide céphalo-rachidien est produit par les tissus nerveux et que les fluctuations de la concentration de fructose dans ce liquide reflètent les fluctuations de la concentration de cet hexose dans les tissus nerveux. Ces observations nous permettent de croire que la réduction du glucose en sorbitol et son oxydation subséquente en fructose sont plus actives dans le tissu nerveux de malades diabétiques, tout comme cela a été récemment observé pour le tissu nerveux d'animaux atteints de diabète expérimental.
Zusammenfassung
Das Vorhandensein von Fructose im Liquor cerebrospinalis beim Menschen wurde enzymatisch und mit Hochspannungselektrophorese auf Papier nachgewiesen. Die cerebrospinale Fructosekonzentration überstieg in 39 von 40 Fällen diejenige im Blutplasma. Es bestand eine vorzügliche Korrelation (r = + 0.88) zwischen den Konzentrationen von Fructose und Glucose im Liquor. Unsere jetzigen Kenntnisse deuten darauf hin, daß das Nervengewebe den Bildungsort der Liquor-Fructose darstellt und daß Schwankungen in der Konzentration der Fructose im Liquor Schwankungen in der neuralen Konzentration dieser Hexose widerspiegeln. Diese Beobachtungen sind mit der Möglichkeit einer vermehrten Umwandlung von Glucose über Sorbitol zu Fructose im Nervengewebe von Patienten mit Diabetes mellitus vereinbar, ähnlich wie dies bei Tieren mit experimentellem Diabetes beobachtet wurde.
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Supported in part by USPHS Grant No. AM 04722-06 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, and by Research Career Development Award No. GM 6405-02 of the National Institutes of Health.
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Wray, H.L., Winegrad, A.I. Free fructose in human cerebrospinal fluid. Diabetologia 2, 82–85 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00423014
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00423014