Immunoreactive β-Endorphin and Adrenocorticotropin in Human Cerebrospinal Fluid

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Abstract

To elucidate the significance of β-endorphin in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), CSF levels of β-endorphin-like immunoreactivity (β-EP-LI) in various diseases were determined by a specific radioimmunoassay and compared with simultaneously determined ACTH-like immunoreactivity (ACTH-LI) levels in CSF. CSF β-EP-LI and ACTH-LI in the control group, consisting of 5 normal subjects and 19 patients with nonendocrine diseases, were 22.2±1.3 and 14.6±0.4 fmol/ml, respectively. CSF levels of these peptides in patients with schizophrenia (n = 19) and acromegaly (n = 10) were not significantly different from those in the control group. Patients with Cushing's disease (n = 7) had significantly lower CSF β-EP-LI and ACTH-LI levels than those in the control group. Four of them showed a parallel increase in CSF β-EP-LI and CSF ACTH-LI levels after the complete removal of pituitary microadenomas (P < 0.05).

Authors

Kazuwa Nakao, Shogo Oki, Issey Tanaka, Kazuko Horii, Yoshikatsu Nakai, Tomoo Furui, Masanori Fukushima, Akio Kuwayama, Naoki Kageyama, Hiroo Imura