Cerebrospinal fluid homovanillic acid in cerebral infarction.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) homovanillic acid (HVA) concentration was measured in 39 consecutive cases of hemispheric infarction, 7 cases of brainstem infarction, and in 16 controls. The CSF-HVA level was 38 +/- 15 ng/ml (mean +/- S.D.) in the control patients, 15 +/- 6 ng/ml in patients with brainstem infarcts, and 49 +/- 41 ng/ml in those with hemispheric infarcts. The CSF-HVA levels were decreased in brainstem infarct cases (p less than 0.001) and greatly scattered in patients with hemispheric infarcts (range 4--207 ng/ml) when compared to controls. The decrease of levels of CSF-HVA in brainstem infarct cases may reflect interference with the dopaminergic pathways. CSF-HVA values in hemispheric infarction could not be related to the acuteness, location, nor severity of the lesion. The broad range of CSF-HVA values may be due to the interaction of multiple, as yet unknown factors. These findings suggest that dopamine metabolism is altered in many cases with acute brain infarction.