Premium
Decrease of GABA in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with progressive myoclonus epilepsy and its correlation with the decrease of 5HIAA and HVA
Author(s) -
Airaksinen Eiia M.,
Leino Eeva
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1982.tb04531.x
Subject(s) - myoclonus , epilepsy , cerebrospinal fluid , progressive myoclonus epilepsy , medicine , endocrinology , etiology , gabaergic , psychology , anesthesia , gastroenterology , psychiatry , inhibitory postsynaptic potential
The degenerative type of progressive myoclonus epilepsy (PME) is a hereditary disease with grand mal seizures, stimulus sensitive myoclonus, characteristic EEG and mental deterioration in the late stage. GABAergic antiepileptic drugs are the most effective ones in this disease, with an unknown etiology. In this study, the GABA concentration in the CSF of 15 PME patients was measured and compared with values of sex‐ and age‐matched epileptic controls. It was correlated with the concentrations of 5HIAA and HVA in the CSF, which were determined earlier from the same patients. The GABA concentration in the PME patients was statistically significantly decreased, to about 75% of that of the epileptic controls. It correlated with HVA and 5HIAA concentrations in the PME patients, but not in the epileptic controls. It is unknown whether these findings are related to the primary cause of PME or whether they are only secondary, owing to a loss of respective neurons or synapses.