Summary
Free GABA levels were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 74 neurological patients suffering from cerebral cysticercosis (n = 9), Parkinson's disease (n = 5), multiple sclerosis (n = 6), epilepsy (n = 24), meningeal tuberculosis (n = 6), viral encephalitis (n = 3), cerebrovascular disease (n = 8) and several kinds of dystonia (n = 5). A statistical significant four-fold elevation in free GABA levels was found in patients with cerebral cysticercosis. A non statistical significant two-fold increase in free GABA levels was also encountered in the CSF of patients affected by cerebrovascular disease and viral encephalitis. No changes in CSF free GABA levels were found in patients suffering from any of the other disorders. It is suggested that free GABA levels may be elevated in the CSF of patients suffering from neurological diseases which course with inflammation and tissular necrosis such as cerebral cysticercosis. Much work is needed however to establishd whether CSF free GABA levels can be used as a diagnostic tool in at least some type of these patients.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Araki K, Takino T, Ida S, Kuriyama K (1986) Alteration of amino acids in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with Parkinson's disease and spinocerebellar degeneration. Acta Neurol Scand 73: 105–110
Bloom FE, Iversen LL (1971) Localizing3H-GABA in nerve terminals of rat cerebral cortex by electron microscopic autoradiography. Nature 229: 628–630
Böhlen P, Schechter PJ, van Damme W, Coquillat G, Dosch JC, Koch-Weser J (1978) Automated assay of gamma-aminobutyric acid in human cerebrospinal fluid. Clin Chem 24: 256–260
Bonnet AM, Tell G, Schechter PJ, Grove J, Saint Hillaire MH, De Smet Y, Agid Y (1987) Cerebrospinal fluid GABA and homocarnosine concentrations in patients with Friedereich ataxia, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's chorea. Mov Disord 2: 117–123
Corona T, Pascoe D, González-Barranco D, Abad P, Landa L, Estañol B (1986) Anticysticercus antibodies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid in patients with cerebral cysticercosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiat 49: 1044–1049
Crawford PM, Chadwick DW (1987) GABA and amino acid concentrations in lumbar CSF in patients with treated and untreated epilepsy. Epilepsy Res 1: 328–338
Enna SJ, Snyder SH (1976) A simple sensitive and specific radioreceptor assay for endogenous GABA in brain tissue. J Neurochem 26: 221–224
Enna SJ, Stern LZ, Wastek GJ, Yamamura HI (1977) Cerebrospinal fluid gammaaminobutyric acid variations in neurological disorders. Arch Neurol 34: 683–885
Fahn S (1976) Regional distribution studies of GABA and other putative neurotransmitters and their enzymes. In: Roberts E, Chase TN, Tower DB (eds) GABA in nervous system functions. Raven Press, New York, pp 169–186
Ferraro TN, Manyam BV, Hare TA (1983) Further characterization of in vitro conditions appropiate for GABA determination in human CSF: Impact of acid deproteinization and freeze/thaw. J Neurochem 41: 1057–1064
Fonnum F (1987) Biochemistry anatomy and pharmacology of GABA neurons In: Meltzer HY (ed) Psychopharmacology the third generation of progress. Raven Press, New York, pp 173–182
Fricke U (1975) Tritosol A new scintillation cocktail based on Triton X-100. Anal Biochem 63: 555–558
Grossman MH, Hare TA, Manyam NVB, Glaeser BS, Wood JH (1980) Stability of GABA levels in CSF under various conditions of storage. Brain Res 182: 99–106
Grove J, Schechter PJ, Hanke NFJ, de Smet Y, Agid Y, Tell G, Koch-Weser J (1982) Concentration gradients of free and total gamma-aminobutyric acid and homocarnosine in human CSF: Comparison of suboccipital and lumbar sampling. J Neurochem 39: 1618–1622
Haeggele KD, Schwartz JJ, Schoun J, Schmitt AH, Schechter PJ (1987) 2-Pirrolidinone in human cerebrospinal fluid: a major constituent of totalγ-aminobutyric acid. J Neurochem 49: 1402–1406
Keystone JS, Murdoch JK (1979) Mebendazole. Ann Intern Med 91: 582–586
Luder PJ, Witassek F, Weigand K, Eckert J, Bircher J (1985) Treatment of cystic echinococcosis (Echinococcus granulosus) with mebendazole: assesment of bound and free drug levels in cyst fluid and parasite vitality in operative specimens. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 28: 279–285
Manyam NVB, Hare TA, Katz L (1979) Cerebrospinal fluid GABA levels in Huntington's disease, “at risk”s for Huntington's disease and normal controls. Adv Neurol 23: 547–556
Manyam B, Katz L, Hare TA, Gerber JC, Grossman MH (1980) Levels ofγ-aminobutyric acid in cerebrospinal fluid in various neurologic disorders. Arch Neurol 37: 352–355
Manyam BV, Tremblay RD (1984) Free and conjugated GABA in human cerebrospinal fluid: effect of degenerative neurological diseases and isoniazid. Brain Res 307: 217–223
Mugnaini E, Oertel WH (1985) An atlas of the distribution of GABAergic neurons and terminals in the rat CNS as revealed by GAD immunocytochemistry In: Björklund A, Hökfelt T (eds) Handbook of chemical neuroanatomy. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 436–608
Pérez de la Mora M, Possani LD, Tapia R, Terán L, Palacios R, Fuxe K, Hökfelt T, Ljungdhal Å (1981) Demonstration of centralγ-aminobutyrate-containing nerve terminals by means of antibodies against glutamate decarboxylase. Neuroscience 6: 875–895
Perschak H, Amsler U, Vischer A, Siegfried J, Cuénod M (1987) Ventricular cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of putative amino acid transmitters in Parkinson's disease. Human Neurobiol 6: 191–194
Perry TL, Hansen S, Wall RA, Gautier SG (1982) Human CSF GABA concentrations: revised downward for controls, but not decreased in Huntington's chorea. J Neurochem 38: 766–773
Pitkänen A, Matilainen R, Ruutiainen T, Riekkinen P (1988) Levels of totalγ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) free GABA and homocarnosine in cerebrospinal fluid of epileptic patients before and duringγ-vinil-GABA (vigabtrin) treatment. J Neurol Sci 88: 83–93
Schechter PJ, Sjoerdsma A (1990) Clinical relevance of measuring GABA concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid. Neurochem Res 15: 419–423
Seiler N, Lajtha A (1987) Functions of GABA in the vertebrate organism. In: Neurotrophic activity of GABA during development. Alan R Liss Inc, New York, pp 1–56
Teychenne PF, Lake CR, Ziegler MG (1980) Cerebrospinal fluid studies in Parkinson's disease. In: Wood JH (ed) Neurobiology of cerebrospinal fluid, vol 1. Plenum Press, New York, pp 197–206
Welch KMA, Chabi E, Bartosh K, Achar BS, Meyer JS (1975) Cerebrospinal fluid GABA levels in migraine. Br Med J 3: 516–517
Welch KMA, Meyer JS (1980) Neurochemical alterations in cerebrospinal fluid in cerebral ischemia and stroke. In: Wood JH (ed) Neurobiology of cerebrospinal fluid, vol 1. Plenum Press, New York, pp 325–336
Wilson JF, Davidson M, Rausch RL (1978) A clinical trial of mebendazole in the treatment of alveolar hydatid disease. Am Rev Resp Dis 188:747–757
Wood JH, Glaeser BS, Enna SJ, Hare TA (1978) Verification and quantification of GABA in human cerebrospinal fluid. J Neurochem 30: 291–293
Wood JH, Hare TA, Glaeser BS, Balenger JC, Post RM (1979) Low cerebrospinal fluidγ-aminobutyric acid content in seizure patients. Neurology 29: 1203–1208
Zini D, Farrell VJR, Wadee AA (1990) The relationship of antibody levels to the clinical spectrum of human neurocysticercosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiat 53: 656–661
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zepeda, A.T., Ortiz Nesme, F.J., Méndez-Franco, J. et al. Free-GABA levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients suffering from several neurological diseases Its potential use for the diagnosis of diseases which course with inflammation and tissular necrosis. Amino Acids 9, 207–216 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00805952
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00805952