Markedly elevated nitrate/nitrite levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of children with progressive encephalopathy with edema, hypsarrhythmia, and opticatrophy (PEHO syndrome)
S. Vanhatalo et R. Riikonen, Markedly elevated nitrate/nitrite levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of children with progressive encephalopathy with edema, hypsarrhythmia, and opticatrophy (PEHO syndrome), EPILEPSIA, 41(6), 2000, pp. 705-708
Purpose: To compare the levels of brain nitric oxide production in patients
with PEHO or PEHO-like syndrome and in controls with other neurologic dise
ase.
Methods: Nitric oxide metabolites, nitrates, and nitrites (NNx), were measu
red in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of children with PEHO syndrome or PEHO
-like syndrome, and in controls with other neurologic diseases.
Results: The NNx levels were markedly higher in both PEHO (mean, 48 mu M; p
< 0.001) and PEHO-like (22 mu M; p < 0.003) patients as compared with the
controls (6 mu M), but did not correlate with age or with brain atrophy or
CSF levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that in PEHO syndrome, production of nitr
ic oxide is markedly increased, suggesting that nitric oxide is involved in
the pathologic phenomena (i.e., seizures and neurodegeneration) of the dis
ease.