[Alcoholic epilepsy. Decrease of tryptophan levels in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid].
The initial, functional stage of alcoholic epilepsy has been attributed to disturbances in neuromediators, including serotonin. Tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin, was assayed in 10 alcoholic patients with epilepsy and in a group of subjects with normal tryptophan metabolism and undisrupted blood-brain barrier. Tryptophan levels were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid and free and total tryptophan levels in plasma, using an automatized continuous flow method. Compared with controls, the alcoholic patients showed a highly significant decrease of all tryptophan fractions.
Adult↗