[The effect of amino acids on neurotransmitter metabolites in the cerebrospinal fluid].

Metabolites of neurotransmitters of dopamine, homomovanillic acid (HVA), and of serotonin, 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA), were assessed in cerebrospinal fluid by the method of high pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. The HVA concentration in cerebrospinal fluid rose markedly in a two-month-old infant with intracranial hypertension caused by a communicating hyporesorptive hydrocephalus following administration of tyrosine, the precursor of dopamine. The 5-HIAA concentration in cerebrospinal fluid rose significantly in a 20-month-old boy with epilepsy and arrested psychomotor development after administration of 5-hydroxytryptophan, the precursor of dopamine. Biochemical normalization of concentrations of neurotransmiteed metabolites did not lead to changes in the clinical condition of the children.