Cerebrospinal fluid quinolinic acid concentrations are increased in acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Dementia and brain atrophy are established features of a large proportion of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). To investigate a potential mechanism for atrophy in AIDS, we measured the concentration of the endogenous neurotoxin quinolinic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid of 10 patients with AIDS and found that they had 3-fold higher quinolinic acid concentrations than 9 age-matched control subjects: 53.8 +/- 10.7 pmol/ml versus 18.4 +/- 3.4 pmol/ml, respectively (p less than 0.005). It remains to be determined whether increased brain quinolinic acid concentrations are involved in the pathogenesis of the neuropathology of AIDS.