Hyaluronan in cerebrospinal fluid after head injury.

Hyaluronan (HYA) is a large molecular weight polysaccharide which functions in various roles throughout the body. Little is known regarding HYA in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We measured CSF and serum HYA concentrations in eleven patients with varying degrees of head injury. In these patients, CSF HYA ranged from 46 to 772 micrograms/l and serum HYA from 16 to 573 micrograms/l. We did not find any relationship between HYA values in CSF or serum and underlying disease or Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). The role of CSF HYA in the injured human brain has yet to be elucidated.