Monoamine interactions in narcolepsy and hypersomnia: a preliminary report

• Published in: Sleep (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 9; no. 1 Pt 2; pp. 246 - 249
• Main Authors: Faull, K F, Thiemann, S, King, R J, Guilleminault, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.01.1986
• Subjects: 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid - cerebrospinal fluid; Biogenic Amines - cerebrospinal fluid; Brain - physiopathology; Dopamine - physiology; Homovanillic Acid - cerebrospinal fluid; Humans; Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid - cerebrospinal fluid; Methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol - cerebrospinal fluid; Narcolepsy - cerebrospinal fluid; Norepinephrine - physiology; Synaptic Transmission
• ISSN: 0161-8105; 1550-9109
• DOI: 10.1093/sleep/9.1.246

Principal component analysis was performed on data obtained for the concentrations of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol, homovanillic acid, and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid from a group of normal volunteers (n = 40), hypersomniac patients (n = 13), and narcoleptic patients (n = 8). All four compounds were shown to be highly intercorrelated in the normal volunteers. In the hypersomniac patients, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol did not appear to be correlated with the other three compounds. In the narcoleptic patients, homovanillic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid appeared not to be correlated with the other two metabolites. The results provide tentative support for a neurochemical distinction between narcolepsy and hypersomnia and suggest that attention should be given to a possible malfunction of the dopamine system in narcolepsy and norepinephrine in hypersomnia.