Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), nitrite and nitrate in the cerebrospinal fluid in meningitis, multiple sclerosis and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Recent evidence suggests the involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in inflammation and demyelination in the brain. To test this hypothesis, we measured NO markers in the cerebrospinal fluid from patients with bacterial meningitis (BM), aseptic meningitis (AM), multiple sclerosis (MS), and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Subjects with non-inflammatory neurologic diseases served as the controls. NO markers were cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) measured with an enzyme immunoassay, and nitrite and nitrate measured with the Griess reaction. Except for BM, cGMP was not increased in AM, MS or GBS compared with the controls. Nitrite and nitrate were unaltered in any of the groups studied. These results do not support the hypothesis that NO is increased in the brain in meningitis, MS or GBS. Otherwise cGMP, nitrite and nitrate in the cerebrospinal fluid do not reflect the increase in NO in the brain.