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Concentration of homovanillic acid in the ventricular fluid of patients with Parkinson's disease and other dyskinesias

From the Laboratory of Chemical Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, and Service de Neurochirurgie, Départment de Chirurgie, Hôpital Notre-Dame et Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec.

SUMMARYThe concentration of homovanillic acid (HVA) has been studied in the cerebrospinal fluid of 68 patients operated stereotaxically for various dyskinesias, pain syndromes, epilepsy, or other diseases. The mean concentration of HVA in 39 parkinsonian patients was 154 ng. per milliliter. This mean is lower than that of 24 cases of extrapyramidal diseases other than Parkinson's disease (245 ng. per milliliter) or the mean of 7 cases operated upon for nonextrapyramidal diseases (216 ng. per milliliter). There was no significant effect of thalamotomy.

The statistical evaluation of the results obtained in the parkinsonian patients showed that there was no correlation between the concentration of HVA in the CSF and the age of the patients, the duration of their illness, or the presence or absence of tremor, rigidity, and akinesia. However, when the 5 patients with marked akinesia were considered separately, the mean concentration of HVA was significantly lower than in the others. These results are discussed in relation to the effect of L-Dopa on the akinesia of Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Sourkes' address is Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, 1033 Pine Avenue West, Montreal 112, Quebec, Canada.

Submitted for publication Nov. 20, 1969; accepted Jan. 6, 1970.

This work was supported by grants of the Medical Research Council of Canada. R.P. is an MRC Fellow.

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