Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of cerebrospinal fluid in neurodegenerative disease: Indication of glial energy impairment in Huntington chorea, but not Parkinson disease

Metabolite levels in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with Parkinson disea se or Huntington chorea were compared with the levels in healthy controls u sing proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. No significant differences wer e found for any metabolite measured in cerebrospinal fluid from patients wi th Parkinson disease compared to controls. Slight but significantly reduced levels of both lactate and citrate, however, were found in cerebrospinal f luid from patients with Huntington chorea compared to controls. This sugges ts possible impairment of both glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle func tion. The reduction in lactate found in the present study may reflect neuro nal loss. The decrease in citrate supports the theory of mitochondrial dysf unction in the brain of patients with Huntington chorea, but also suggests that there may be an important astrocytic component in this disease. If so, it would certainly have implications for neuronal function. J. Neurosci. R es. 60: 779-782, 2000. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.