Decreased lumbar cerebrospinal fluid levels of monoamine metabolites in vascular dementia.

The levels of the monoamine metabolites 5-hydroxy-indoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-phenylglycol (HMPG) were determined in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 56 patients with vascular dementia (VAD) and 57 healthy controls. Despite CSF sampling under standardized conditions, the variability in values was wide among both patients and controls. This suggests that yet unknown factors affect the lumbar CSF concentrations of monoamine metabolites. The VAD group showed significantly lower mean concentrations of 5-HIAA (p < .001) and HVA (p < .001) than the control group. These low concentrations appear to be no disease-specific phenomenon, but may be attributable to subcortical white-matter changes or a decreased production of monoamines, which are dependent on oxygen for their synthesis.