Cerebrospinal fluid nitric oxide metabolites in painful diseases

To elucidate the involvement of NO in pain transmission in humans, rye meas ured NO metabolites (nitrite/nitrate) in the CSF of patients with painful d iseases using an NO analyzer based on the Griess method. The nitrite/nitrat e levels in patients with degenerative lumbar disease (DLD), but not those with fracture or appendicitis, were significantly higher than those in an a ge-matched control group. The duration of pain in the DLD group was much lo nger than that in the fracture or appendicitis group. The nitrite/nitrate l evels in the middle-aged and elderly DLD patients depended on the duration of pain. These data probably suggest that the duration of pain is critical for the elevation in nitrite/nitrate levels. (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.