Studies on homocarnosine in cerebrospinal fluid in infancy and childhood. Part II. Homocarnosine levels in cerebrospinal fluid from children with epilepsy, febrile convulsion or meningitis.

To clarify the pathophysiological role of homocarnosine in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in children, homocarnosine levels in CSF were determined in patients with epilepsy (32 cases), febrile convulsion (5 cases) and meningitis (42 cases) with a high speed amino acid autoanalyzer (Hitachi Co.). Mean homocarnosine levels in CSF of controlled epileptic children, uncontrolled epileptic children and febrile convulsion cases were 0.61 +/- 0.25 mumol/dl, 1.03 +/- 0.37 mumol/dl and 1.09 +/- 0.04 mumol/dl, respectively. High homocarnosine levels in CSF of children with uncontrolled epilepsy or febrile convulsion may indicate the reduced turnover rate from homocarnosine to GABA. In patients with meningitis, the unconscious states were accompanied by significantly lower homocarnosine levels in CSF (0.39 +/- 0.20 mumol/dl) than those in the patients with clear conscious states (0.9 +/- 0.31 mumol/dl, however, in patients with clear conscious states homocarnosine in CSF were almost the same as those of normal children (0.89 +/- 0.23 mumol/dl). These data suggest that homocarnosine in CSF might be related to the convulsive tendency and consciousness.