Abstract
IN clinical cases of Parkinsonism there is a decrease in the concentration of dopamine in the caudate nucleus and putamen and of noradrenaline and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) throughout the brain1,2. This is very interesting in view of the fact that these amines are supposed to be transmitters in the monoaminergic nervous system3. Substances known to decrease the transmission from the monoaminergic neurones, for example, reserpine and chlorpromazine, are also known to cause symptoms of Parkinsonism in both animals and humans. Dopamine is transformed by monoamine-oxidase (MAO) to dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and further by catechol-O-methyl-transferase to homovanillic acid (HVA). 5-HT is transformed by MAO to 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA). These two acids, but not the corresponding amines, can be determined in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); the concentration of the acids in CSF is closely related to that in brain4. In Parkinson's disease there is a tendency to low values in CSF of both HVA and 5-HIAA5.
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OLSSON, R., ROOS, BE. Concentrations of 5-Hydroxyindole-acetic Acid and Homovanillic Acid in the Cerebrospinal Fluid after Treatment with Probenecid in Patients with Parkinson's Disease. Nature 219, 502–503 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/219502a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/219502a0
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